Bill will give states a payday
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
States facing budget shortfalls could get big cash advances when President Barack Obama signs the economic stimulus bill.
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives reached a consensus today on the stimulus package. The two houses are expected to hold final votes on the package before the end of the week, then the bill heads to Obama’s desk.
Earlier versions
Last week the House passed its version of the bill. Its total price tag was $819 billion. The Senate passed an even more pricey version of the bill yesterday that cost $838 billion. But when lawmakers met today to negotiate and reconcile the two bills, a lot of spending was cut.
This final version of the bill, which is expected to be approved by Obama in a few days, costs $789 billion. The bill gives cash advances to states and creates 3.5 million jobs, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Cost-saving compromise
“The middle ground we’ve reached creates more jobs than the original Senate bill and costs less than the original House bill,” said Reid.
Apparently things cost less in the “middle ground.” According to Senator Susan Collins they “tightened and scrubbed” the bill.
The final version
Senator Susan Collins
Gone from the bill are tax breaks for home buyers. Also spending for school construction was slashed significantly.
Many of the original goals sought in drafting the original stimulus package are still intact. The final bill still provides tax cuts to workers and invests in infrastructure. It also dedicates $44 billion to giving cash advances to states that are facing budget shortfalls.
Finally – it looks like DC can actually get things done. I’m not crazy about the amount of tax relief we’re getting, because it isn’t very much, and I’m still convinced that we could have just given about $10K to every taxpaying adult in the US (the math was done on that one – that’s how much we could have given every taxpayer in the US) and that would have gone a lot farther to stimulate the economy, but I hope that the stimulus bill does what it’s intended to do.