Senate Passes Stimulus Legislation, 61-37

On Tuesday, February 10, the United States Senate passed an $838 billion economic recovery bill (H.R.1), The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, by a 61-37 vote. The Senate approved the legislation after adopting a crucial compromise amendment crafted by the only Republicans to vote in favor of the stimulus bill, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Arlen Specter (R-PA). The amendment slashed $108 billion from the legislation which had at one point ballooned to over $900 billion.

Funding levels for transportation, infrastructure and water resources remained largely unchanged in the reworked legislation. The House passed its own $819 billion version on January 28, by a 244-188 vote. The following are funding highlights for key infrastructure programs in both bills:

HOUSE:

• $30 billion for highways
• $12 billion for transit
• $6 billion for Clean Water State Revolving Fund
• $2 billion for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

SENATE:

• $27 billion for highways
• $8.4 billion for transit
• $4 billion for Clean Water State Revolving Fund
• $2 billion for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

The next step in the process will be for House and Senate negotiators to meet and reconcile the differences between the two bills. At press time it was still unclear whether a formal conference committee would take place.

With a self-imposed deadline of February 16, for sending a final bill to be signed by the President, House and Senate negotiators have a lot of work ahead of them to reach an agreement. The negotiation process must ensure that any changes maintain the support of at least 60 Senate votes for final approval before the bill can be cleared for the President’s signature.