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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
US House of Representatives passes $819-billion Obama stimulus, Republicans sit out
CBS news reports:
The House of Representatives late Wednesday passed President Barack
Obama's $819 billion plan to stimulate the economy and curtail the
nation's year-old recession.
The 244-188 vote proceeded along party lines as expected. Only 12
Democrats opposed the measure, and no Republicans supported it.
Senate committees have been working on a separate version of the
measure. It is not clear how quickly the Senate version will be
completed, passed, and reconciled with the House measure, but
Congressional leaders have promised Mr. Obama they would send him a
completed bill by mid-February.
The House vote came after days of intense lobbying by the new
president, including personal appeals to congressional Republicans. GOP
lawmakers spurned Obama, saying the bill contains too much spending and
not enough tax cuts.
Republican critics say the bill was little more than the
fulfillment of a long-standing Democratic wish list. Those critics
pointed to $1 billion for Amtrak, $41 billion for local school
districts and $127 billion for health care for the poor and unemployed,
reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Chip Reid.
[...] The legislation includes an estimated $544 in federal spending and $275
billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses. It includes money
for highway construction and mass transit.
The Obama recovery package would be the largest spending bill ever
to move through Congress. The House measure had been estimated to cost
$825 billion, but the Congressional Budget Office updated the bill's
price tag to $816 billion after accountants recalculated the cost. That
total rose by $3 billion when the House approved a Democratic amendment
for mass transit.
Gentlemen, start your printing presses!
Posted by Kalim Kassam on January 28, 2009 in U.S. politics | Permalink
Comments
Money from Heaven... Gee he really IS the Messiah.
We'll all be fine now so we can go back to watching reality shows knowing all is well...
I could just puke...
Posted by: JC | 2009-01-28 8:29:18 PM
Green intiatives, education, the poor and homeless. These are just a few issues that the money is getting used for. No wonder Republicans didn't support it. There are better things to support, like corporate wealth and the foreign investments (OIL). The Republicans are forgetting who HAS been president for the past 8 years and has had a huge impact on why the economy is the way it currently is.
Posted by: s.przada | 2009-01-29 12:40:56 AM
s.przada, the economy is the way it is in part because of the Bush administration but also because of the Clinton administration.
Any freedom loving American should resist the unholy alliance of business and government. Both the Democrats and Republicans thrive on this alliance.
Profits are not bad, they are very very good. Including for the poor. But, when government interferes, unholy things result. The sub prime fiasco is an example.
Don't have too much faith un governments of any stipe.
Posted by: TM | 2009-01-29 5:24:18 PM
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