Showdown Nears on Stimulus Bill

Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), left, and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) joined in support of a Finance Committee stimulus bill that expands eligibility for federal payments. (By Mark Wilson -- Getty Images)

All of those provisions were left out of the House bill.

Senators held back on the impulse to load up the package with pet provisions. Grassley and Baucus teamed up to vote down amendments from both parties, and some senators decided against offering changes they had promised.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who had held a news conference to promise a push for $500 million in mortgage counseling, backed off yesterday, declaring: "We have to thread the needle here. We want to improve the bill, but we don't want to take it so far from the House bill that we slow it down."

But the inclusion of tax breaks for oil and gas exploration, appliance makers and construction firms building housing for a glutted market could open the Senate to ridicule, warned Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).

"What we've done today is to add a lot of provisions that are hard to defend as stimulative," he said.

The Senate will begin considering the House plan today. It promises $600 checks for middle-income individuals, $1,200 for couples, and $300 for workers too poor to owe income tax. Baucus will then be allowed to offer the Finance Committee bill as a substitute, and will probably need 60 votes to succeed. The showdown is likely to be close, with heavy pressure from McConnell and the White House weighing on Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he hopes for a final vote on one of the two stimulus bills tonight.