President Barack Obama's push for a massive injection of tax cuts and government spending to jump-start the US economy moved forward today as Congress neared a deal on a bill costing $789 billion.
"We're close. I expect to have it done by 3pm (8pm GMT)," said Senator Max Baucus, one of the negotiators on the package aimed at pulling the U.S. economy out of its deep recession.
Mr Baucus said later the final package would cost $789 billion and that Democrats had the votes to pass it.
Democrats control both chambers in Congress and fellow Democratic President Obama, in office for just three weeks, is pushing for a conclusion to the legislation by the weekend.
Mr Baucus said it was very possible that the House would vote tomorrow on the compromise and the Senate would follow on Friday.
Congressional negotiators and White House officials met behind closed doors late last night to try to work out disagreements over spending and tax cuts in an economic stimulus bill that could cost taxpayers around $800 billion (€619 billion).
Hoping to shore up the vital support of three moderate Republican senators, congressional negotiators were under pressure to shrink the overall size of the bill and appeared to be getting results.
The House of Representatives has passed a bill costing about $820 billion, while the Senate's version would have cost $838 billion. The two chambers are trying to come up with a compromise bill.
Among the changes negotiated to lower the overall cost, according to congressional aides, was a somewhat smaller tax credit for workers that would now total $400 for individuals and $800 for couples. An earlier version of the bill would have granted $500 and $1,000 respectively.
In a possible move to shore up House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's backing, negotiators were talking about adding more money than the Senate version did for education. But details were still lacking.
Other tax changes could include modifying tax incentives to encourage home and automobile buying, according to senators.
Mr Obama has said the economic stimulus, with its goal of creating and saving up to four million jobs, was needed to avert "catastrophe" in the US economy.
Seeking to blunt Republican criticisms that the legislation contains wasteful spending that won't necessarily stimulate the economy, Mr Obama said on a visit to a Virginia construction site: "We're going to do more than has ever been done before to make certain that every tax dollar is spent wisely and on its intended purposes."
According to one House Republican aide, negotiators were still debating how to handle a controversial provision encouraging the use of US-made materials in construction projects funded by the bill. An early version of the legislation angered US trading partners.
If approved at that session, the compromise bill would be sent to the full House and Senate for final passage, possibly by week's end. Mr Obama has said he would sign the measure into law promptly.
Alone, the stimulus package is unlikely to fix the US economy because it does not address financial sector problems.
The Obama administration hopes to address this through a bank rescue programme unveiled by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday. Wall Street plunged as traders expressed disappointment there were not more details.
Reuters