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Washington Digest: House approves stimulus package Monday, Feb 4, 2008 By Tony Batt Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - The House voted 385-35 last week for a $146 billion economic stimulus bill that would give checks of $600 to most American taxpayers. The bill still has a way to go because the Senate is working on its own version, which has drawn objections from President Bush who helped craft the House bill. Taxpayers earning more than $75,000 per year and couples earning $150,000 or more annually would not be eligible for rebate checks, according to the House bill. Couples with children would not receive a check if their income is more than $174,000 per year. House leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urged the Senate to pass the House bill without any changes. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, insisted the Senate must have a role in shaping the economic stimulus bill. The Senate bill would provide rebates to more people and expand unemployment benefits and business tax breaks. Reps. John Boozman, R-Rogers, Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, voted for the House economic stimulus bill. Rep. Marion Berry, D-Gillett, voted against it. Security bill stalled The Senate split on a White House-backed rewrite of electronic surveillance guidelines to monitor suspected terrorists. Senators voted 48-45 for the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act, but 60 votes were required to cut off debate and move to a final vote. The act would allow federal agents to monitor phone calls and e-mails of foreign suspects even if they are communicating with someone in the United States. The agents would be required to seek court approval on how surveillance would be conducted. The bill also would immunize from prosecution telecommunications companies which have assisted the government wiretapping. Bush said the rewrite would ensure the uninterrupted flow of vital intelligence to protect the United States. Opponents, primarily Democrats, said the bill went too far. They objected primarily to allowing retroactive immunity for companies that took part in wiretapping. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., voted to move forward with the Bush-backed FISA bill. With the current law set to expire Feb. 1, Democrats proposed a 30-day extension to allow negotiations to continue. But that proposal also was blocked by a 48-45 vote. Lincoln and Pryor voted for the 30-day extension. Congress eventually passed a 15-day extension. |
