Senate Passes $838B Stimulus Bill

Obama Says "That's Good News" After 61-37 Vote; Bill Now Goes To Negotiations With The House

(CBS/AP)  The Senate has approved the $838 billion stimulus bill, which has solid Democratic support but is backed by only three Senate Republicans.

"That's good news," President Obama said of passage when told about it during a town hall meeting in Fort Myers, Fla.

But he also noted: "We've still got a little more work to do." (Read more on Mr. Obama's pitch.)

The bill now faces what could be contentious negotiations with the House, which passed a different version of the legislation, one that includes fewer taxes and more spending than the Senate version.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., vowed to send a finished bill to Mr. Obama's desk "as soon as possible."

Just three Republicans helped pass the plan on a 61-37 vote and they're already signaling they'll play hardball to preserve more than $108 billion in spending cuts made last week in Senate dealmaking. Mr. Obama wants to restore cuts in funds for school construction jobs and help for cash-starved states.

Those cuts are among the major differences between the $819 billion House version of Mr. Obama's plan and a Senate bill costing $838 billion. Mr. Obama has warned of a deepening economic crisis if Congress fails to act. He wants a bill completed by the weekend. (Read more about what's next.)

Differences have to be worked out but both bills include tax cuts for almost all working Americans, vast new spending on building new roads and bridges, investing in new energy projects and clean fuels, aid to financially strapped states and help for the unemployed including higher benefits and help in paying premiums to keep their health insurance, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss.

The three Republicans who voted for the package are Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. They joined all Democrats and Independents Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports that in case his vote was needed, Ted Kennedy interrupted treatment for a brain tumor to be on the Senate floor, where he was greeted by Robert Byrd, his friend of more than 45 years.

Mr. Obama's choice to be commerce secretary, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, did not vote, keeping his commitment not to participate in Senate business or votes while his confirmation is pending. All other Senate Republicans voted against the bill.

There is also a vacant seat in the Senate due the ongoing recount battle between Al Franken and Norm Coleman in Minnesota.

Not a single Republican voted for the bill in the House.

"I'm reticent to get into the negotiating," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday. "I will tell you this, the president is willing to do whatever it take with Democrats or Republicans to get something on his desk." He said the American people need the help "right now."

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department announced an enormous plan to strengthen ailing banks.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was spelling out new bailout details for the nation's lenders, said in remarks prepared for the announcement, "Right now, critical parts of our financial system are damaged.

That plan includes a public-private partnership of over $1 trillion to help strengthen banks. Added to the congressional stimulus plan, which aims to get Americans spending again, the total of the combined efforts could easily pass $2 trillion.

Geithner said the bailout plan would lead to "cleaner and stronger" bank balance sheets by imposing tough new standards and using government and private incentives to get the banks lending again. (Read more on the plan.)

Tuesday afternoon, CBS News Producer John Nolen reports, Reid led a preliminary meeting in his office to discuss where things stand with the stimulus bill.

Three representatives from the White House were present: Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Congressional liaison Phil Schiliro and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag.

The Senators present included Reid, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, Lieberman, and Collins and Snowe, two of the Republicans who supported the bill.

Around 5:00 PM, Emanuel and Reid went to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office for about 25 minutes. They then returned to Reid's office to continue meeting.

In total, Emanuel has already been in discussions on Capitol Hill for almost four hours.

There is not yet word on when the stimulus conference will hold its first official meeting.

[briannorwood]

This week, the Republicans in Congress just got a taste of what it will be like living under the Obama administration.

With a smile and an offer of bi-partisanship, he grabbed the "bully pulpit" and beat his critics like a drum with it!

The result, 70% of Americans approve of his handling of the stimulus. 35% approve of the way the Republicans are.

As the Everlasting GOP Stoppers continue singing to their ever dwindling party base, have they simply conceded the moderates to the Democrats?

[azgoldrush]

Greetings!
Here is a vending machine with an out of order sign on it/ so we load it up w/ more money?!

YES; WE HAVE A HELL OF A LOT BETTER IDEA!!!!!!!

SO....
Go team!, and dont worry when the; BAILOUT?
plan for the economy fails (and it will).
We Got your back!
We got...

"PLAN B"

The honest to GOD only real plan that will guarantee a robust economy world wide. make most of the world happy, free up the teams to resolve other issues, make the world a better place to live and the best part is its always available if needed, and; the cost is a lot less than you have already spent!-ASK YOURSELF- what do you have to lose? gain?

AZ GOLDRUSH HAS A BETTER IDEA...
IF THEY WOULD JUST LISTEN...
THE WORLDS ECONOMY WOULD BE GREAT.

"az goldrush can fix the economy worldwide"!

fast,reasonable,guaranteed!
"PLAN B" ALSO CALLED "PUSH-PUSH"

THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE AND IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!!!
Gods speed
[e-mail]

[tincup356]

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was spelling out new bailout details for the nation''s lenders, said in remarks prepared for the announcement, "Right now, critical parts of our financial system are damaged. .............yes you Idiot we have problems......you rocket scientists we have running the country have broken a key part of the economy,,,,The Middle class you Bozo.......if we don''t have money to spend .....it affects the economy.And pouring Billions and trillions into the corporate end of things will not help the people,,,,and they know it. So in a sense congress and Washington are doing something illegal by bailing out the banks, and corporate America at the expense of the middle classes existence. they are committing TREASON.

[wvu74621]

Question: Does anyone realize that this Stimulus package only offers about 18 months of ecenomic relief? The majority of this money is tax payer dollars with a small percentage in private money. The money has not even been taken out of Americans paychecks yet. To pay for this it will take years of additional tax money to break even. What does that mean? Tax increases, which have already begun on certain products (cigarettes,gas) and you will see an increase in FICA withholdings from your paychecks within 6 months. The problem is that there will be another Stimulus package in the making in early to mid 2010, and bi annually for years to come just to catch up.

[wvu74621]

Question: Does anyone realize that this Stimulus package only offers about 18 months of ecenomic relief? The majority of this money is tax payer dollars with a small percentage in private money. The money has not even been taken out of Americans paychecks yet. To pay for this it will take years of additional tax money to break even. What does that mean? Tax increases, which have already begun on certain products (cigarettes,gas) and you will see an increase in FICA withholdings from your paychecks within 6 months. The problem is that there will be another Stimulus package in the making in early to mid 2010, and bi annually for years to come just to catch up.

[beodishazmi3]

spit on your shoes gay blade...


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Posted by Texanna10 at 10:37 PM : Feb 10, 2009


Aren''t you one of those dungeon dykeee who is quiet familiar with gay blades and gay parades advisory board....I would spit on your two assss bonker moon holes and bang it till dawn until you will sing the theory of the bang bong........lolololololololololol

[jsd330]

Sheeeeeee''s Back

[banswers]

Pointing fingers goes nowhere.
The only reason for finding a culprit is to see justice. Accountability & punishment are in short supply.

Other than a few the republicans are being cowards. The voting tells me that the GOP is not supporting a bi partisan nation, they are not supporting our new president and they are not supporting this country.
Sore losers are what I see.

The GOP is playing with Americans. The Dems have the power to vote in bills and the Republicans are making sure that History remembers they didn''t approve a thing for when something goes bad. GOP is creating deniability.

The Media needs to help educate America. The Senate signed the stimulus package. Now it just need to return to house and then back to the senate again until one bill is actually approved. The Media would help America with more Journalism than FLUFF.

Use the term American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Isn''t ''stimulus'' and ''bail out'' all being addressed in this same piece of legislation. Ask our elected officials to elaborate on their usage of the term pork barrel. The GOP is using it to describe the actions underway to help stabilize our economy because this one big bill has so many line items.

Greed is what got us here. Time for the politicians to focus on the job and not promoting themselves. The Media could start with setting an example. Educate instead of sensationalize. Push knowledge instead of fear.

[charlie1092]

In the past six months our brains in the white house have passed about two trillion in stimulus bills. That''s about ten thousand $ for two hundred million taxpayers in America. why not just give us the money.

[standlee5]

I just talked to someone who went to Disneyland on vacation and they said SoCal is nothing but spanish speaking Latinos. They said they thought they''d entered another country. Everyone is moving out except the illegals. That''s the future of America staring us in the eye except it''ll be illegals from all over teh world seeking refuge in obamas free land.

[standlee5]

Not a single Republican voted for the bill in the House."

Good job House Republicans. Somebody''s got to stand up for sanity.

[charlie1092]

Well now 300,000 illegal immigrants will now take over all the construction jobs that this bill will create and the American taxpayers will fund this and all the other Pork that is in this bill.

[m-e-t-w-o]

WHAT Roudy EXPUNGED she will be back as the man eater from Texas she has had two but no one knows what happened to them.

[jsd330]

What no more Texanna10?

[m-e-t-w-o]

Slownewsday2 Rowdy has a hard time handling you and your post i just love it keep up the good work

[whitemale09]

Folks, It doesn''t matter how much paper-money is spent on the ''stimulas'', money is just a ''medium of exchange''.

However, under a private central banking system like we have, money is more then a ''medium of exchange'',

but Obama is making it clear that we are getting rid of the Federal Reserve once and for all.

How?

Because Tim Geithner announced today that banks will have to ''QUALIFY'' to get more bailout money otherwise it''s receivership and bankruptcy re-organization.

You Wall Street Republicans just don''t get it.

You think that the new financial architecture that the Obama administration is constructing means that fiat-currency will maintain its ''intrinsic value'',

but it will not, and that''s a very good thing.

This means that the stimulas needs to be 10 times that amount as long as the money is spent as an investment towards the benifit of the next generation not a liability.

Republicans needs to humble themselves and support our President. He''s doing the right thing.

Wall Street will hate it like they hated and kick and scream like they hated FDR but so what!

[sfbanak]

The stock market is a gamble and just a way for some to get rich. It''s full of corruption and we need to just do away with it and come up with something better.

[thgdriver1]

So Nobama got his way by scaring the ignorant that a worse depression then in the 30''s would happen. He''s great, first he magically got elected, now he magically got the bucks.

I hope your all very happy now that you, your child, your childs child will have to keep big government going by paying it all back.

During the big depression, 1930, that the boogie man just scared you nitwits with, the unemployment rate was over 25%. We are now where near that. Oh, and BTW, 10 years later, after Hover and FDR put out federal bucks, in 1940 the unemployed was still at 20%.

What got us out? Everybody went to war Dec. 7/8 1941. Those that did not serve got jobs from making parachutes to army belt buckles to tanks to planes.

What will work again? JOBS!! The government shouting money at the problem did not work before and it wont work now.

[sfbanak]

I start reading the comments and there is no intelligence, just people playing games. Please go elsewhere to do that. These blogs are to talk about the issue(s) in the story above.

[misha128-2009]

Posted by hungry686 at 07:28 PM : Feb 10, 2009

did you miss ALL HAT TEXAN this morning committing treason by recruiting terrorists against the US.