Congress: Deal at last, deal at last

The Los Angeles Times reports that “House and Senate Democratic leaders, negotiating into the night to forge a compromise with three moderate Republican senators, reached agreement Wednesday on a $789-billion economic recovery bill that President Obama has called crucial to pulling the country out of its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The bill, slimmed down and reworked to win the handful of GOP votes needed to ensure final approval by the Senate, would finance a flurry of infrastructure and construction projects, extend unemployment benefits, subsidize healthcare coverage for those out of work, and provide tax relief for many.” The Boston Globe : "The deal was announced by Senate leaders, who appeared to drive the private negotiations with their House counterparts. They had to navigate competing interests as they worked to deliver a bill to President Obama by his end-of-week deadline, balancing a House majority that sought robust new funding for long-standing priorities ... (link)