Comparing the Stimulus Bills

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Now that the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed their own version of stimulus bills, their leaders will meet to iron out differences in the two bills. The Senate bill includes $117.6 billion more in tax cuts for individuals and families, while the House bill authorizes an extra $12 billion in tax cuts for businesses. The House also adds $27 billion more for aid to low-income families. The house bill includes some appropriations that the Senate eliminated entirely. Examples include: $21 billion for school construction and technology, $8.6 billion for Medicaid for the unemployed, $4.2 billion for programs for the disabled and elderly, $1.5 billion to university research facilities, and $850 million for wildfire mitigation. On the other hand, the Senate added items that had not appeared at all in the House version. Examples include: $4.6 billion in fossil energy research (that means oil, coal and natural gas), $2.3 billion in health insurance aid, and $1 billion for nuclear weapons maintenance.

 
The Stimulus Bills: House vs. Senate (by Michael Grabell, ProPublica)

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