Deal on Stimulus Package Puts Heat on Senate

Bush, Congress bask in the brief glow of cooperation, but can it last?
By Jim O'Neill,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2008 1:15 PM CST
Deal on Stimulus Package Puts Heat on Senate
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, right, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, second from left, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, center,and Sen Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., left, speak to reporters at the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008, in Washington, after meeting with President Bush about the global...   (Associated Press)

The $150 billion package of tax breaks for consumers and businesses rolled out yesterday was the first show of bipartisan cooperation sans bloodletting since the  Democrats won control of Congress a year ago, the Washington Post observes. It took panic over a looming recession to make it happen, and it could still be undone in the Senate.

The Senate will face formidable pressure not to hold up the $600 rebate checks by trying to reshape the deal. Delaying the process would cloud the House's triumphant demonstration that Congress actually can get something done, the AP reports. "The American people are not going to have a lot of patience for taking time," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned. (More George W. Bush stories.)

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