With the help of three Republicans, Senate Democrats just moments ago passed an $838 billion stimulus program that President Barack Obama says it essential to put the economy on the road to recovery.
The bill was passed at the same time that Obama is in Fort Myers, Fla., holding a town hall meeting on the economic crisis. Yesterday he was in Indiana and did his first prime time press conference, all in an effort to put pressure on lawmakers to get a bill to his desk.
Both California Democratic senators voted for the bill today. This measure is different than the one in the House. The House measure includes more spending for such things as education. But the Senate took out about $100 billion in spending because it was the only way Democrats could get Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Maine senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to vote for it.
Orange County’s five GOP House members voted no and the county’s only Democrat, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, voted yes. Sanchez has her own idea about stimulus and has introduced a bill to create bonds Americans can buy to help fund infrastructure projects. I’ll be doing a separate post on that shortly.
Now senators and House members will begin meeting to try and agree on one bill that will then have to go back to both chambers for another vote.
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