Slimmed-Down Stimulus Bill Headed for Tuesday Vote

After hammering out a bipartisan reworking of President Obama’s stimulus package, senators began debating the measure last night, will continue today, and will likely vote on it Tuesday, CNN reports. Moderates from both parties worked on the compromise in days of private meetings, shaving down a plan that had soared to nearly $900 billion. “There is a winner tonight," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, one of the centrist negotiators. “It’s the American people, and they deserve it.”

“We trimmed the fat, fried the bacon and milked the sacred cows,” said Dem Sen. Ben Nelson, noting that the bill’s price tag had been lowered to some $827 billion. “We are pleased the process is moving forward,” said the White House press secretary. But House minority leader John Boehner, still a holdout, said, “Ninety percent of a bad idea is still a bad idea.”