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The House Tuesday overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that is aimed at spurring a slowing economy. With a vote of 385-35, the economic stimulus package moves to the Senate, which has already signaled it will make changes. The House bill would cost $146 billion and is the product of negotiations between House leaders from both parties and the White House. The centerpiece of the legislation is a tax rebate of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for households and an additional rebate for children. The bill also includes business tax cuts. When a growing number of signs pointed to an economic slowdown at the beginning of the year, the House acted unusually swiftly and in a bipartisan manner to get additional funds into the marketplace. Lawmakers hope that taxpayers will spend their rebate checks, thus boosting the economy in the short term. “The bill that we have before us is the way good legislation occurs,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), personally thanking Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her part in the compromise. Because the measure was passed under suspension of the rules, no amendments were allowed and the deal made with the Bush administration remained intact. But the Senate has indicated it may hold up passage of the legislation by adding additional provisions — something President Bush warned against in his State of the Union address Monday night. “The temptation will be to load up the bill,” Bush said during his speech. “That would delay it or derail it, and neither option is acceptable.” Bush praised the deal as “a good agreement that will keep our economy growing and our people working.” The Senate is planning to expand the stimulus package by also sending rebate checks to seniors and wealthier taxpayers. |
