Senate leaders have scheduled a vote on the economic stimulus package today. It follows weeks of hard-fought negotiations and compromises between the parties.
Over the last week, the Senate bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, had swelled to more than $900 billion, but recent amendments and pressure from Republicans decreased the price tag to $827 billion. Roughly $87 billion in additional funding for state Medicaid programs—some of which will go to fund nursing homes across the country—have remained in the bill. But other healthcare provisions, including $2 billion in healthcare information technology funding, have been cut out of the legislation.
Washington insiders expect that the bill will receive the 60 votes necessary to avoid a Republican filibuster and pass the chamber. Even after passage, however, the Senate bill must be reconciled with the version passed by the House of Representatives. President Obama had set a goal for legislation to be completed by the President’s Day recess, but that goal might not be attained, reports from Washington say.
