Senate Makes Fixes to Stimulus Bill, But Not Everyone is Happy

Thursday , January 31, 2008

WASHINGTON —

Senate Democrats are meeting Thursday morning on what to do about a stimulus package that's being brought to a vote but may be difficult to pass.

Majority Leader Harry Reid is worried that a vote in the Senate Finance Committee on substitute legislation to a House-passed package did not have enough Republican support, and that doesn't bode well for the Senate vote. Only three Republicans went for the bill created by Committee Chairman Max Baucus with the help of Ranking Minority Charles Grassley.

The committee leaders thought they'd get a couple more Republican votes, but no dice. Reid thinks this could be bad news for the bill, said a Democrat familiar with the situation. The leader will need 60 votes to get his way but is worried he won't be able to find 10 Republicans to jump ship and vote against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is pushing Republicans to stay with the House bill.

The Senate Finance Committee passed a bill Wednesday that adds additional business breaks and expands the number of taxpayers eligible for a rebate. Supporters say it will also fix a loophole in the House-passed economic stimulus package that allows some illegal immigrants to qualify for tax rebate checks.

The fix requires that anyone eligible for a rebate envisioned in a House-passed $161 billion stimulus package must have to have a valid Social Security number, rather than an Individual Tax Identification Number.