Thursday, February 12, 2009
Democratic leaders announced on Wednesday they reached an agreement on an economic stimulus plan of 789,000 million dollars which seeks to preserve or create millions of jobs amid an intense recession.
"The point at which we created more jobs than the original version of the Senate and costs less than the original version of the House of Representatives," said the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Harry Reid.
However, the chairman of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, did not attend the press conference that announced the Senators agreed, and it remained unclear whether his absence was due to his disagreement with the measure.
The bill should create or preserve 3.5 million jobs after the president signs it Barack Obama, said Reid.
Obama thanked the legislators who have made what he called a "very disputed meaning."
"I want to thank the Democrats and Republicans in Congress agreed that harmoniously in a highly contested settlement that will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs," he said in a statement the president, who has lobbied strongly for the early adoption of package.
Obama also said that tax aid and investment in health care, energy, education and construction revive the economy.
Republican Senator Susan Collins estimated the cost of the plan at 789,000 million dollars without counting interest, lower than previously approved by the cameras. The measure includes money for the victims of the recession, states in a position to illiquidity and tax credits for individuals and businesses.
Affected persons will be assisted by the extension of benefits for unemployment insurance, free coupons to purchase food and other social benefits and health insurance and millions of dollars for states will be forced to cut their own programs and social budgets.
Also prevailed tax refunds requested by Obama, that will benefit millions of people by their low or no income pay no income tax.
Officials said earlier that one of the outstanding issues is the amount for the modernization of schools, a priority of Pelosi and Obama, who opposed Collins and other Republicans whose votes are essential for the final approval of the Senate .
It was not announced when the final vote will take place in both chambers. In the House of Representatives may be held on Thursday, followed by the Senate.
The bag was recovered and closed with a modest increase of 50.65 points to 7939.53 just after the announcement of Reid.
Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman predicted that the bill "will be the beginning of the upturn in the U.S. economy," adding that the signing of the plan because it runs quickly, a few hours before it announced the agreement, the heavy machinery company Caterpillar Inc . terminated indicated that some of the 22,000 layoffs announced recently, after the draft becomes law.
Democratic Senator Tom Harkin told reporters that 6000 will be put aside millions of dollars, which according to officials may only be spent on repairs and modernization, a limitation to satisfy Republicans and conservative Democrats.
But officials said that representatives Democrats want to increase that item of $ 9,000 million.
The original project approved by the lower house was 819,000 million dollars and was accepted without a single Republican vote.
The project approved by the Senate on Tuesday rose to 838,000 million dollars and was supported by only three of 41 Republican senators, a number sufficient to overcome the 60 votes required.
