January 31, 2008: Senate stimulus package faces cloture vote Monday night

No Senate tomorrow

[21:01]
The Senate adjourned at 20:20. It will not meet tomorrow. It will return at 14:00 on Monday, February 4, 2008.

Senate package has lots of green in it

[18:07]
Aside from tax rebate checks, the Senate stimulus package also includes language extending tax credits for investment in alternative energy and energy-efficiency projects. These tax credits, for example, give taxpayers a credit for retrofitting businesses with solar panels (what Maria Cantwell (WA) calls a "solar conversion"). Cantwell is arguing that these tax credits have a stimulative effect by creating jobs. This language is not part of the House-passed version of the package.

Senate stimulus package does have income limitations

[17:51]
Originally, the Senate version of the stimulus package would have distributed tax rebate checks to any U.S. taxpayer making $3,000 in 2007. Democrats jumped on the absence of income limitations, imagining checks going to Gates and Buffett. Reid said that the idea made him want to gag.

Well, the Senate finance committee did indeed include income limitations in the final language of the Senate's version of the stimulus plan, which faces a cloture vote on the floor on Monday. Americans earning over $150,000/yr (or $300,000/yr for couples) will NOT get a tax rebate check. So there you go.

Hey, for all of those of you out there not exceeding the limitations, the Senate plan gives rebates of $500/person ($1000/couples) as opposed to the $600/person ($1200/couples) in the House-passed package. Well, I'm a Senate guy so I still have to pull for the Senate package.

Incidentally, the Senate version also extends expiring tax credits for energy-efficiency and alternative energy investments. Maria Cantwell (WA) is a big booster of these provisions, which she has been unable to add to other vehicles moving through the Senate.

Stimulus cloture set for 17:30 on Monday, Feb. 4

[17:36]
Reid has introduced a cloture petition for the Senate version of the economic stimulus package. That vote will be Monday evening at 17:30.

Meanwhile, Reid reiterates that he has repeatedly thought that senators had agreed a way forward on FISA reform only to see the agreement fall apart. So, in sum, there is still no agreement on how to proceed with passing a new version of the FISA wiretapping provisions.

Mitch McConnell (KY) doesn't fault the majority leader but "this has indeed been an exasperating week." He notes that there has only been one vote this week, on Monday. Actually, there were two votes on Monday, but let's not split hairs. He is hoping for a better week next week, he says. So, it sounds like that's pretty much it for Senate action this week outside of morning order speeches.

Senate version of stimulus runs into various forms of resistance

[14:48]
It seems that the version of the economic stimulus package passed out of the Senate finance committee yesterday would likely fall short in a cloture vote, failing to get 60 senators to support it.

Complicating the procedure is the absence of super-senators Clinton and Obama who will not be around until after Super Duper Tuesday. Majority leader Harry Reid (NV) yesterday acknowledged that it will be impossible for these senators to return to the Capitol until the middle of next week. Because impending votes on FISA and the stimulus package are sure to be close, the Senate schedule is taking a backseat to the presidential campaign schedule.

Chuck Grassley (IA), a finance committee Republican who did support the Senate stimulus package, is now on the floor saying that illegal immigrants are in line to get rebate checks under the language of the House-passed stimulus bill. We're gonna have to fix this, he says.

Precap:

The Senate will convene at 11:00 and according to the Senate website "recognize the majority leader." I'm not quite sure what that means. Perhaps he will address the Senate.