House and Senate Work Together on Stimulus Bill

Although it is good news for most Americans to hear that the Senate finally passed a stimulus plan after weeks of dragging their feet, negotiations between the House and Senate bills do not look like they are going to be easy.

The two bills, although similar, do contain about $110 billion in differences. The House bill will raise the national debt by about $948 billion, whereas the Senate bill is $838.2 billion. The Senate bill, which narrowly passed, will be in contention with the House because of spending cuts which were key to it being passed. The Republican senators who voted to pass the bill have commented that they will not support a stimulus plan that restores those cuts.

The Senate barely passed the bill, with a final vote of 61-37. Sixty votes are needed to pass a bill in the Senate, and so Republican support is critical.

The House and Senate, which hopes to have a bill ready for President Barack Obama by the end of this week or early next week, is in contention over several points. One of which is education spending. The House bill claims to be able to "create 500,000 more jobs than the Senate bill," according to California Rep. George Miller (D).

"I do not support the establishment of a new federal school construction program, because school construction traditionally has been a state and local responsibility," said Maine Senator Susan Collins, showing the Senate's apprehension about spending so much on education.

Hopefully both the House and Senate and Democrats and Republicans alike will be able to overcome bipartisan issues and come to a suitable compromise to help the American economy get back on its feet.