Stimulus package emerges scarred but intact

Thursday, February 12th, 2009
Author : Biz2Credit Advisor

President Barack Obama was set to sign into law his $787 billion economic stimulus package on Feb. 17 in Denver, emerging with a document bruised but alive after weeks of partisan fighting.

Republican lawmakers fiercely opposed the plan, while some Democrats joined the chorus, saying it didn’t go far enough.

It advanced earlier in the month after squeaking by in a procedural vote in the Senate with mostly Democratic support. But then business groups and GOP officials began seeking broader Republican backing, USA Today said in a story in its Feb. 9 editions. Key support appeared to come from GOP governors eager for federal dollars to help plug enormous state budget gaps.

To the administration, the plan perhaps couldn’t come together fast enough. Economic indicators continued to slide and Wall Street did little more than lurch day to day. In the week before the expected signing, the Dow shed 5.2%.

Here’s what’s inside the package, according to USA Today:

• $1 trillion from the Federal Reserve to buy bonds and other assets to boost consumer loans.
• $500 billion to $1 trillion from the government and private investors to buy distressed securities from financial institutions.
• $545 billion in spending, $293 billion in tax cuts in the Senate stimulus which was later reconciled with the $820 billion House version.
• $50 billion from the government to stem mortgage foreclosures.


Biz2Credit Logo This article was submitted by Kathleen O’Connor, a contributing writer for Biz2Credit. Biz2Credit is a small business marketplace that provides entrepreneurs with the latest industry news and financial advice. Send all questions to info@biz2credit.com.

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