Earn What You Spend

I disappear into a conference for a week, and when I re-emerge, a bill of unprecedented proportions has passed both houses of Congress.  The stimulus bill just passed the Senate.  It is impressive how quickly our government can act when prompted. Whether that is a good thing, I’ll leave it to you to decide. 

The bill, of course, is not yet a law - the House and Senate versions much be reconciled and then passed along for President Obama’s signature. The differences between the two bills are not insignificant.  The Senate version passed with only three Republican votes - and a crucial component of their support was about $108 billion in spending cuts from the House version.  The will be a contentious point in the next stage of negotiations.  

A few of the differences are outlined by the WSJ: 

The House version of the plan is $819 billion in size, and has more generous grants to state governments to help them cope with strains on their education budgets. It also offers greater financial assistance to people who have lost their medical insurance benefits as a result of losing their jobs.

The Senate bill has a heavier bent towards tax cuts with a $70 billion annual fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax included, as well as tax credits aimed at stimulating new car and house purchases.

It also includes more funding for spending on transportation infrastructure — around $45 billion as compared to roughly $30 billion in the House bill.

Senate lawmakers also agreed to reduce the size of a $500 tax credit which the bulk of American taxpayers would receive.