Senate Passes Compromise Stimulus Plan

New Version Of Economic Rescue Bill Includes Rebates For Older People, Disabled Vets

(CBS/AP)  The Senate passed an economic rescue plan Thursday that would speed $600 to $1,200 in rebates to most taxpayers and $300 checks to low-income people, including disabled veterans and the elderly.

The 81-16 vote capped more than a week of political maneuvering that ended only when majority Democrats dropped their demand that the proposal offer jobless benefits, heating aid for the poor and tax breaks for certain industries.

GOP senators blocked those ideas, but agreed to add the rebates for older people and disabled veterans to a $161 billion measure the House passed last month.

Stimulus checks for the survivors of disabled veterans are also included in the amendment, CBS News reports.

House leaders said they would act as early as Thursday night to send the measure to President Bush.

A White House official said Mr. Bush is expected to support this version of the bill, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

The Senate plan would rush rebates - $600 for individuals, $1,200 for couples - to most taxpayers and cut business taxes in hopes of reviving the economy. Individuals making up to $75,000 a year and couples earning up to $150,000 would get rebates.

People who paid no income taxes but earned at least $3,000 - including through Social Security or veterans' disability benefits - would get a $300 rebate.

The bill had stalled for more than a week in the Senate. The turnaround came after Democrats fell just one vote short Wednesday of overcoming a GOP filibuster and pressing ahead with their $205 billion plan.

Democrats decided on Thursday against insisting on their package. Instead, they agreed to speed the bipartisan measure, costing about $167 billion, to Bush.

"It's our responsibility to pass the strongest bill that we can, and so I think it's tremendous what we'll be able to accomplish," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "We had to finish this quickly."

The retreat came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sided with Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Pelosi, D-Calif., urged the Senate to stop its infighting and pass the bill.

"There's no reason for any more delay on this," Pelosi said.

Thirty-three Republicans joined 46 Democrats and the Senate's two independents to pass the measure. Sixteen Republicans voted against the plan.

Reid defended his decision to try to pressure Republicans on the larger proposal by offering it as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition along with the rebates for older people and veterans. "I feel very strongly that we did the right thing," Reid said.

Democrats said Republicans would pay a political price for their opposition. The more expensive proposal would have extended unemployment for 13 weeks for people whose benefits had run out; added $1 billion in heating aid for the poor; and provided tax breaks for the home-building, renewable energy and coal industries.

"If today (Republicans) are squirming because they voted 'no,' that's what democracy is all about," said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, the head of the Senate Democratic campaign committee. "The political chips will fall where they may."

But Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said: "Discretion is the better part of valor. The best thing for us to do is declare a big victory that we've achieved, namely getting the rebate checks to 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans."

The measure moved through Congress with remarkable speed amid a series of deflating economic reports. Some Republicans, however, expressed reservations that the rebate checks would help much. Other lawmakers worried about expanding the budget deficit.

"We have to remember that every dollar being spent on the stimulus package is being borrowed from our children. And our children's children," said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.

[bcbbkake]

Wombat: I would think that if you deferred enough to your 401(k) to get under the limit, you will qualify. That money is not taxed until you withdraw, and is therefore not considered "income" for tax purposes, which is kind of the whole point of deferring it. Hope that helps.

[bcbbkake]

Social Security is not "earned income", so no tax returns are filed by someone on SSI. Are they going by tax returns filed? How will someone on SSI get their refund?

[wombat991]

If you deferred enough salary (via say 401k) to get below an individual (75) or household (150) limit, are you eliglible for the $600 or 1200? Can it be prorated for amounts over income limits? I promise I''ll spend it. The 66 million tax filing households with income over the median paid 97.2% of the income tax, so I hope I''ll at least get a kiss from Mrs. Pelosi with this plan.

[boston9inch]

I paid $200,000 in taxes last year and I get NOTHING. Others made $3000, paid no taxes, and are getting a rebate. I am NOT rich. I have bills of over 11,000 a month to pay. The rebate could have helped. Why do people who work hard--couples in our case-get penalized, while those who don''t bother to work, get rewarded??? What a system. We should just all sit and collect.

[gmond]

I send the gov''t 500.00 and they send me 600.00? Let''s do this every year!

[karen35l8r]

The Democrats should have turned the offer down. They were played! Bush sent the message that he shoved the "requests" for relief down the whiny Democrat Congress''s throat. And, whatever further - OBVIOUSLY NECESSARY - relief will be on the Democratic watch over the budget. He hasnt changed a thing. Nothing here will do a thing. Democrats should have turned it down because now the cost of it is, people know that regardless of beliefs and rhetoric, they are impotent.

[clarkssuppor]

Does the requirement that you pay taxes in 2007 relate to line line 44 (Tax), line 46 (Tax plus AMT Tax), line 57 (tax after subtracting credits) or line 63 (total tax) which includes penalties on early withdrawls of IRA''s???????

[byeneocons]

***! I make too much money to help stimulate the economy.

This is the saddest attempt I''ve ever seen to cover up the economic chaos caused by Reaganomics 2000.

I think I''ll donate the 300 I would have gotten to the DNC. That should stimulate the economy by getting the neocon nutjobs out of the White House.

[mom36330]

I''m confused ...i thought it was 300 a person plus 300 a child but this article said 600. What changed???

[tucano2]

When oh when will someone hide the printing presses that spew out Billions of increasingly worthless greenbacks? The same sort of thing happened in Germany in the 1920''s, and over 50 Millions died in WW2 as a result.