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US Senate, House reach agreement on stimulus package of $789 billion
·U.S. Congress on Wednesday approved Obama's massive stimulus package. ·The cost of the bill will be 789 U.S. billion dollars, smaller than the bill approved Tuesday. ·35 percent of the bill would be tax cuts, and 65 percent would be spending. WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2009 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate and House have reached an agreement on President Barack Obama's massive stimulus package, lawmakers said here on Wednesday. Senator Susan Collins said the cost of the bill will be 789 billion dollars, smaller than the Senate's 838-billion-dollar bill approved on Tuesday, as well as an 819-billion-dollar version of the legislation passed last month by the House. "I'm particularly pleased that we have produced an agreement that has the top line of 789 billion dollars, that it's less than either the House- or the Senate-passed bills," said Collins at a press conference. "Overall, there is about 150 billion dollars in infrastructure in this bill, when you add together transportation, environmental, broadband and other projects," said Collins. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hailed the progress. "I'm pleased to announce that we've been able to bridge those differences," he said, adding that he hopes for a vote in both chambers of Congress as early as Thursday. "Like any negotiation, this involved give and take, and if you don't mind my saying so, that's an understatement," he said. "But the agreement we've reached stays faithful to the principles I've outlined." According to the lawmakers, 35 percent of the bill would be tax cuts, and 65 percent would be spending. Tax credits for workers would be cut to 400 dollars per individual and 800 dollars per family. Once the final bill is passed by both chambers, it would be sent to President Obama to be signed into law. Obama has set a Feb.16 deadline for the package. Earlier on Wednesday, Obama urged the Congress to urgently get a final stimulus bill. "Now's the time to take bold and swift action," Obama said during a visit to a construction site in northern Virginia near Washington D.C. to rally more public support for his stimulus bill. "We've got to get a final version to my desk so that I can sign it and so that here in Virginia and across the country, the people can use it," Obama said. He also noted that Caterpillar's chief executive has told him the company will rehire some laid-off workers if the stimulus bill passes. Fair Use Notice This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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