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Senators reach deal on US stimulus bill
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-07 12:43

Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter also voiced criticism of the measure, but said, "I do believe that we have to act and I believe that under all the circumstances this is the best we can do and we ought to do it."


US President Barack Obama (R) speaks as Economic Recovery Advisory Board Chairman and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker looks on in the East Room of the White House in Washington February 6, 2009. US President Obama signed an executive order Friday to establish the Economic Recovery Advisory Board. [Xinhua] 

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Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry said the compromise price tag would be made up of 42 percent tax cuts and 58 percent in new spending. "It's a good balance," he said.

While a deal on the measures marks a solid start for Obama, who took office on January 20, the largely party-line support in the House and Senate was a setback in his drive to foster a new spirit of bipartisan cooperation in Washington.

Opponents complained much of the new spending amounted to little more than a liberal wish list, and more should have been devoted to tax relief and job-creating construction projects instead of new rounds of other government spending.

Spending Lots, Fast

Obama had said he could accept a package in the US$800 billion range and that failure to act could turn crisis into catastrophe. He rejected demands for wholesale changes by Republicans, saying it was their policies that created the crisis in the first place.

It was unclear how the deal would affect changes already adopted by senators, including adding an US$11 billion tax break for automobile sales and a US$19 billion tax incentive for homebuyers. Conrad said they would remain but other senators said they were not included.