US senate approves Obamas stimulus plan

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

The U.S. Senate approved an 838 billion US dollar economic rescue plan on Tuesday, setting the stage for tough haggling this week in congress over the final package.

The U.S. Senate voted 61-37 to pass the 838 billion US dollar plan, which amounts to almost 6 percent of the country's GDP or a quarter of the U.S. federal budget. US President Barack Obama hopes the Democratic-controlled Congress can deliver the final package to his desk this weekend.

Barack Obama, U.S. President, says, I just want to announce the senate just passed our recovery and reinvestment plan. That's good. That's good news, that's good news. I want to thank of all the members of the Senate who have moved the process forward. We've still got to get the House bill and the Senate bill to match up before it gets sent to my desk, so we have a little more work to do over the next couple of days. It's a good start.

But the Senate and House of Representatives must reconcile differences between their two versions of the bill. The lower house passed a version totaling 819 billion US dollars. One Democrat emphasized the need for urgent action to stem job losses which reached record highs in January.

Sen. Charles Schumer, democrat-New York, says, we are hemorrhaging jobs. The middle class is losing dollars. The country could edge over into recessionary downward spiral that could turn into deflation that God forbid could turn into a depression and yet while president Obama shows leadership, the other side is adamantly sticking to qualities that don't work.

While Obama had sought bipartisan support, he only won the backing of three Senate Republicans.Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican-Kentucky, says, this is an enormous amount of money. The president was right to call for a stimulus but this bill misses the mark. It is full of waste. We have no assurance it will create jobs or revive the economy. The only thing we know for sure is that it increases our debt and locks in bigger and bigger interest payments each year.

But there are some experts who say the stimulus package on its own is unlikely to repair the struggling US economy, They say it does not address financial problems.

Added to that, there are many who worry a Buy American provision in the package could increase trade protectionism.

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