Congress to Vote Today on $789 Billion Stimulus Plan

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The U.S. Congress is set to give final approval today to a $789 billion economic stimulus package after lawmakers worked out last-minute disagreements over executive compensation and taxes.

The House and Senate are debating the measure, one of the most expensive bills produced by Congress. Its expected passage in the Democratic-controlled chambers will hand President Barack Obama his first major legislative victory, sending to his desk a plan for government spending and tax cuts that he and other Democrats have said is needed to help right the economy.

"About a third of this bill goes to tax cuts for everyone," said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chamber's second-ranking Democrat. The money spent for creating jobs means "there will be receipts, profits, more people working," he said. "We need to get Americans back to their feet and Americans back to work."

The House plans to vote in mid-afternoon Washington time. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said his chamber will debate the measure until 5 p.m. He didn't give a specific time for tonight's vote, though late yesterday he said it would be held open to give Democrat Sherrod Brown time to return from Ohio, where his mother died.

Democrats announced Feb. 11 they had reached an agreement that reconciled competing stimulus plans approved by the House and Senate. Still, the party's congressional leaders spent much of yesterday haggling over the accord's details.