Congress Sends Stimulus Plan to Bush

Congress approved an economic stimulus plan today that will give rebates of between $600 and $1,200 to most Americans. It now awaits President Bush's expected signature before checks can go in the mail. The House quickly approved the measure hours after the Senate finalized its version of the $168 billion bill, the New York Times reports.

The measure expands tax rebates to low-income seniors and disabled veterans from the original House plan. But it is a more modest version—by about $30 billion—of one rejected by Senate Republicans yesterday. “The best thing for us to do is declare a big victory that we’ve achieved, namely getting the rebate checks to 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans,” said Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, chief of the Finance Committee.