Despite no Republican backing, President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan was passed in Congress earlier today. The bill, which is intended to provide an $819 billion stimulus to the economy, received no bipartisan support as a total of zero Republicans voted for the passing of the bill.
The final vote for the passing of the package was 244 to 188. Only eleven Democrats did not vote for the bill that will probably be taken up by the Senate this upcoming week.
However, Obama wants the plan to be improved and made as strong as it can before it is finalized and on his desk for signing. President Obama strongly believes that this plan will be very beneficial for Americans, “We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do.”
The Democratic representatives in the House highly advocated the plan’s potential to quickly revitalize the economy and produce numerous new jobs. But the resistance by the House Republicans still remains strong. The Republicans are expressing their disturbance at the amount of money that the bill entails to spend. They claim that tax relief is the most effective way to fix the current economic crisis.
After meeting with both Democrats and Republicans, Obama and his team did their best to construct a plan that would please everyone. The final stimulus package resulted with $212 billion in tax cuts and $607 billions going directly to different entities throughout America.
Next week, the Senate will vote on its version of the bill. To pass in the Senate, 60 out of the 80 votes are needed. Thus, a minimum of two Republicans must vote for the passing of the plan.
In the end, the goal of both Democrats and Republicans is to finalize the bill and have it on President Obama’s desk by Presidents Day.
We’re off to a good start but looks like he’s got some tough opposition coming up with the Senate.