Comments on: CE Week #2: “Senators Reach Deal on Stimulus Plan as Jobs Vanish” http://pkautzman.edublogs.org/2009/02/07/ce-week-2-senators-reach-deal-on-stimulus-plan-as-jobs-vanish/ Mt. Spokane High School AP Government & Politics Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:42:40 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Rebecca Rathbun http://pkautzman.edublogs.org/2009/02/07/ce-week-2-senators-reach-deal-on-stimulus-plan-as-jobs-vanish/comment-page-1/#comment-5566 Rebecca Rathbun Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:50:02 +0000 http://pkautzman.edublogs.org/?p=853#comment-5566 It would appear that this stimulus plan is far from bipartisan. “The administration had initially hoped that it could win the support of as many as 80 senators, but that goal disappeared after House Republicans voted unanimously against the measure.” I do not think the honeymoon period has shown much support for Obama and his administration as this measure is relying heavily on democratic support. “Most Senate Republicans remained opposed to the measure, criticizing it as a case study in excessive spending that would do little to lift the economy. Some conservatives indicated Friday night that they would push for time to study the new legislation before any final vote.” In the Senate, the measure will require some Republican support in order to reach the Conference Committee that would be set up as the House has clearly passed a version that differs from what is being proposed in the Senate. “…another Republican expected to support the deal, to acknowledge they were acting against pressure from their party and, one official said, to thank them for their patriotism in helping advance the bill at a critical time.” It would appear that individual Republicans will determine the outcome of this measure. Connection: As the measure has passed in the House, it was turned over to the Senate that then began to make changes to the bill that was passed by the House. If the measure passes in the Senate with significant changes, the House and Senate will have to establish a Conference Committee in order to create a bill that will be acceptable to both halves of Congress. It would appear that this stimulus plan is far from bipartisan. “The administration had initially hoped that it could win the support of as many as 80 senators, but that goal disappeared after House Republicans voted unanimously against the measure.” I do not think the honeymoon period has shown much support for Obama and his administration as this measure is relying heavily on democratic support. “Most Senate Republicans remained opposed to the measure, criticizing it as a case study in excessive spending that would do little to lift the economy. Some conservatives indicated Friday night that they would push for time to study the new legislation before any final vote.” In the Senate, the measure will require some Republican support in order to reach the Conference Committee that would be set up as the House has clearly passed a version that differs from what is being proposed in the Senate. “…another Republican expected to support the deal, to acknowledge they were acting against pressure from their party and, one official said, to thank them for their patriotism in helping advance the bill at a critical time.” It would appear that individual Republicans will determine the outcome of this measure.

Connection: As the measure has passed in the House, it was turned over to the Senate that then began to make changes to the bill that was passed by the House. If the measure passes in the Senate with significant changes, the House and Senate will have to establish a Conference Committee in order to create a bill that will be acceptable to both halves of Congress.

]]> By: Johanna Stafford http://pkautzman.edublogs.org/2009/02/07/ce-week-2-senators-reach-deal-on-stimulus-plan-as-jobs-vanish/comment-page-1/#comment-5564 Johanna Stafford Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:02:51 +0000 http://pkautzman.edublogs.org/?p=853#comment-5564 Before the stimulus package was picked apart by Congress, the Democrats package would have cost almost $1 trillion and the stimulus package proposed by the Republicans would have estimated about half that. Now we see that it has come down to about $900 billion. President Obama knows that this plan needs to go through by the middle of February because just in January 598,000 people were unemployed and about 3.6 million people are unemployed. And as the article addressed, Obama was becoming less patient with the Republicans, which may result in the Republicans swaying against him because they wanted more of a compromise. Although most will probably vote for the plan or else they will look bad to the American people. As was mentioned in the article, "$2 billion from a plan to expand broadband data networks in rural and underserved areas" seems like a lot to waste to help people get the internet. The internet may be the way to do almost everything in this day and age, but that much money to get people to shop online or surf eBay seems like a waste. Connection: As we saw on the DVD and have talked about in class, it is easier and faster to pass a bill through the House than the Senate. The Senate takes their time, and in this case the two parties tried to "compromise" which took some time and some Republicans were still reserved. Before the stimulus package was picked apart by Congress, the Democrats package would have cost almost $1 trillion and the stimulus package proposed by the Republicans would have estimated about half that. Now we see that it has come down to about $900 billion. President Obama knows that this plan needs to go through by the middle of February because just in January 598,000 people were unemployed and about 3.6 million people are unemployed. And as the article addressed, Obama was becoming less patient with the Republicans, which may result in the Republicans swaying against him because they wanted more of a compromise. Although most will probably vote for the plan or else they will look bad to the American people. As was mentioned in the article, “$2 billion from a plan to expand broadband data networks in rural and underserved areas” seems like a lot to waste to help people get the internet. The internet may be the way to do almost everything in this day and age, but that much money to get people to shop online or surf eBay seems like a waste.
Connection: As we saw on the DVD and have talked about in class, it is easier and faster to pass a bill through the House than the Senate. The Senate takes their time, and in this case the two parties tried to “compromise” which took some time and some Republicans were still reserved.

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