Senate

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Final Stimulus Votes Set Today

With haggling completed, final version of $789B bill will head to House and Senate

(Newser) - Lawmakers have hammered out the final details of the economic stimulus bill and cleared the way for final votes in the House and Senate today, reports Reuters. Both chambers are expected to approve the bill's final version, meeting Barack Obama's deadline of passing the $789 billion package of spending and...

Senate Confirms Panetta as CIA Chief

(Newser) - The Senate confirmed Leon Panetta as director of the CIA tonight, placing the nation's top spy agency in the hands of a government veteran valued for his skills as a lawmaker and policy manager rather than an expert at intelligence-gathering and analysis. The Senate approved President Obama's choice on a...

Stimulus May Pick Up More GOP Votes
Stimulus May Pick Up More GOP Votes
Analysis

Stimulus May Pick Up More GOP Votes

But not enough to be anything like bipartisan

(Newser) - The passage of the stimulus is a done deal, but that doesn’t mean the votes on the compromise measure won’t be interesting. Democrats are hoping to bring more Republicans on board, reports Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. All three GOP senators who backed the original Senate bill...

Congress Reaches a Deal on $789B Stimulus

Trimmed bill cuts funding to many of touted projects

(Newser) - House and Senate negotiators agreed on a compromise $789 billion stimulus plan this afternoon that scales down bills passed by each of the chambers. The final version "creates more jobs than the original Senate bill and spends less than the original House bill," Senate majority leader Harry Reid...

Franken Hits DC; Coleman Does, Too

Franken prepares, Coleman raises money, as endless election contest drags

(Newser) - With the outcome of Minnesota’s US Senate election still tied up in court, Al Franken is in DC preparing for what appears to be his new job. "It's a symbolic step to show Minnesota voters that Franken is doing what he needs to do to be ready to...

Huckabee Rips 'Unholy' Plan
 Huckabee Rips 
 'Unholy' Plan 

Huckabee Rips 'Unholy' Plan

Cites ban on funds for religious schools

(Newser) - The new stimulus package is out to undermine religion. That's what former Arkansas governor  and one-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has told supporters in an email, Politico reports. Shortly before the Senate passed the bill yesterday, Huckabee wrote that the $828 billion package is "anti-religious." He cites  provisions...

Stimulus: Home, Car Buyers Win, States Lose

Pay, bonuses restricted for employees of TARP firms

(Newser) - The $835 billion stimulus plan approved by the Senate today helps out home builders, manufacturers, and buyers of homes and cars, reports the Wall Street Journal. The bill allows manufacturers and construction firms to use any 2008 and 2009 losses to offset tax liability going back as far as 2003....

Senate Passes Stimulus Bill
 Senate Passes Stimulus Bill 

Senate Passes Stimulus Bill

(Newser) - The Senate passed its version of the $838 billion stimulus bill today, in a 61-37 vote, the Wall Street Journal reports. Three moderate Republicans—Susan Collins, Arlen Specter, and Olympia Snowe—jumped across the aisle to prevent a filibuster. Now the House and Senate must reconcile the differences between their...

Porn Star Seeks La. Senate Seat

(Newser) - Louisiana GOP Senator David Vitter will meet a substantial opponent in his 2010 bid for re-election: porn star Stormy Daniels, CNN reports. A grass-roots “Draft Stormy” campaign, unaffiliated with the state’s Democratic Party, has encouraged the buxom blond to run on a platform of the economy, women’s...

Senate, Obama Spar Over Stimulus

(Newser) - President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans bickered today over his historically huge economic recovery plan after states and schools lost tens of billions of dollars in a late-night bargain to save it, the AP reports. "We can't afford to make perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary," Obama...

Slimmed-Down Stimulus Bill Headed for Tuesday Vote

Senate moderates lower price tag; Obama 'pleased'

(Newser) - After hammering out a bipartisan reworking of President Obama’s stimulus package, senators began debating the measure last night, will continue today, and will likely vote on it Tuesday, CNN reports. Moderates from both parties worked on the compromise in days of private meetings, shaving down a plan that had...

Senators Give Stimulus Plan Backroom OK

(Newser) - President Barack Obama moved a step closer to his first big legislative victory today as key senators tentatively agreed on an economic stimulus measure amid stunning new signs of America's economic weakness, the AP reports. Two officials said the emerging agreement was for a bill whittled down to $780 billion,...

Senate Could Vote on Stimulus Tonight

(Newser) - Harry Reid said he was confident the Senate would produce a stimulus bill ready for voting by tonight, Reuters reports. “We’ve made progress,” the majority leader said of efforts to sweat the measure down from $937 billion. “I think we’re going to be able to...

Daschle Defeat Can't Delay Health Reform
Daschle Defeat Can't Delay Health Reform
ANALYSIS

Daschle Defeat Can't Delay Health Reform

Because of recession, even more people need help now

(Newser) - It’s a pity Tom Daschle couldn’t stick around, notes the Economist, because his experience would be useful in navigating health reform through Senate straits. The recession is depriving more of care, and though President Obama’s short-term moves are good, a big fix is needed. Absent Daschle, “...

Senators Wrangle Over Stimulus Cuts

Bipartisan group works to carve plan down to size

(Newser) - A bipartisan group of some 20 senators argued late last night over cuts to the $900 billion stimulus package, and will reconvene today, reports the New York Times. Democrats and Republicans alike say they want to slash provisions that won't swiftly create jobs or boost spending—but they are struggling...

Dems Gird for Fight Over Pro-Labor Bill

'Card check' legislation faces stiff business opposition, Senate fight

(Newser) - House Democrats are about to unveil a bill easing the unionization process, a measure that’s already sparked major backlash, the Hill reports. The Employee Free Choice Act, which President Obama has said he'll sign, would allow workers to skip secret ballot elections to create unions, instead openly signing cards....

President Gets Personal With Swing Senators

Holds highly unusual 1-on-1 meetings with stimulus holdouts

(Newser) - President Obama is reaching across the aisle to moderate senators whose votes are crucial to passage of the economic stimulus bill. He put in a call to John McCain, who has been a vocal critic of the bill’s current incarnation. “We'd like to sit down and try to...

Senate Dilutes 'Buy American' Plan

Amendment calls for stimulus plan to honor existing trade agreements

(Newser) - The Senate has voted to water down the "Buy American" clause in the economic stimulus package amid fears it could trigger a trade war, Reuters reports. The requirement that stimulus-funded projects use American-made iron, steel and manufactured goods now includes the proviso that it only be applied in a...

Japan's PM Slams 'Buy American' Provision

World leaders roundly criticize stimulus provision

(Newser) - Japan’s prime minister today slammed the “Buy American” clause in the proposed economic-stimulus bill currently being considered by the US Senate, the Financial Times reports. Speaking in parliament, Taro Aso said that requiring stimulus projects to use US-made materials is “definitely wrong,” and contrary to the...

Obama and McCain Back at It, Over Stimulus

'Season of cooperation' short-lived as Mac rips 'comical' spending bill

(Newser) - How to spend hundreds of billions of dollars has a way of opening up old rivalries, the Washington Times reports, with John McCain—who recently pledged to cooperate with President Obama—spearheading the Senate effort to rewrite the stimulus package. “I cannot and do not support the package on...

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