Tag Archives: senate

Stimulus Deal Shows Reach — and Limits — of Obama’s Power

Moving at lightning speed and, even more unexpectedly, ahead of their President’s Day deadline, House and Senate negotiators agreed on the details of a $789 billion stimulus package barely 30 hours after Senate passed their version. In the process, they handed President Barack Obama his first major legislative victory, though the deliberations that led up to its passage highlighted the enormous challenges Obama will face in more complicated endeavors like healthcare, entitlement and energy reform

Stimulus deal struck, but still no final bill

House Democratic leaders were forced to put off until Friday a vote on the $789 billion economic stimulus bill after many rank-and-file Democrats who were unhappy with some spending cuts demanded time to read the compromise measure. As of Thursday afternoon, the text of legislation spelling out the details of the House-Senate deal had not been completed. Despite the delay, sources said the bill was not in jeopardy

Schwarzenegger says state worker layoffs looming

Faced with a projected $42 billion deficit, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned Tuesday that 20,000 state workers will lose their jobs if a budget deal isn’t reached by the end of the week. The governor and the legislature are “making progress” in talks, said Schwarzenegger’s press secretary, Aaron McLear.

Obama: This isn’t your ‘run-of-the-mill recession’

President Obama appeared before a national audience Monday night to make the case for his economic stimulus plan, saying this is not your "run-of-the-mill recession." The president stressed the urgency of passing the roughly $838 billion measure, which his administration and Democratic leaders say will help pull the U.S.

Comatose woman in euthanasia debate dies

An Italian woman who had been in a coma for 17 years and whose right-to-die case was being debated in the Italian Senate has died, according to her father. The speaker of the Senate announced the death of Eluana Englaro, 37, then called for a moment of silence in the Senate.

Poll finds Obama more popular than his stimulus package

A new national poll suggests that three out of four Americans approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, but the economic stimulus package he’s trying to push through Congress is not nearly as popular. Seventy-six percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday gave Obama a thumbs-up on how he’s performing his duties, while 23 percent disapproved.