Reid Announces Stimulus Deal

By Richard Rubin and Paul M. Krawzak,
CQ Staff

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced a final deal on economic stimulus legislation and said it could reach the Senate floor as early as Thursday, though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was objecting to the amount of funding for school construction in the plan.

Negotiators from the House, Senate and White House have agreed that the final economic stimulus bill (HR 1) will cost $789.5 billion, according to Senate leaders. Democratic congressional leaders and President Obama have pushed for quick action by the conference committee, and they seem to have hammered out a compromise that would aid states, provide tax cuts and spend hundreds of billions of dollars to pump up the ailing economy.

“Like any negotiation, this involved give and take, and if you don’t mind me saying so, that’s an understatement,” said Reid, D-Nev.

However, House leaders were not present at the announcement. A formal conference meeting that had been scheduled for 3 p.m. was postponed because leaders were still meeting, said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye , D-Hawaii.

(More here.)