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An economic stimulus bill was approved with overwhelming support in the House Tuesday, but faced an uncertain path in the Senate, where tinkering by lawmakers threatens the legislation.
Key congressional leaders urged the Senate to take up the bipartisan stimulus package the House approved 385-35, warning senators they could delay help to the economy that President Bush said was badly needed during his State of the Union address.
“It would be best for the Senate to take up the House-passed bill and send it to the president for his signature,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters. “This is not the time to get into some testing of wills between the two congressional bodies.”
At issue is a plan offered by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) that will be marked up by his panel on Wednesday.
Baucus wants to significantly broaden the House-passed legislation—which reflects a deal struck between Bush and House leaders—by extending unemployment insurance, boosting the size of the rebates for those paying the least taxes, and granting them to more people, including senior citizens who don’t pay taxes and the wealthy.
Most controversial for Democrats is Baucus’s proposal to lift the income caps in the House-passed legislation, which would phase out tax rebates for individuals with incomes greater than $75,000 or couples whose joint income exceeds $150,000.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), a senior member of the Finance Committee, both said this idea was roundly criticized at the Senate Democratic weekly luncheon. Reid said he was “totally opposed to it” and that removing the caps “causes me to want to gag.”
“I think Warren Buffett should not have that rebate,” Reid told reporters. “I think it would be ill advised. Senator Baucus heard from plenty of people in our caucus today. He understands that.”
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