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Waiting for Your Rebate Check? Don't Hold Your Breath
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
WASHINGTON - If you are wondering where your tax rebate check is - you
know, the big promise from the economic stimulus package being developed in
Washington - don't hold your breath.
It's stuck in the Senate as members, Republican and Democrat alike, are
arguing over what to add to the version that passed last month in the House.
Lawmakers still hope to get a bill to President Bush by Feb. 15, but that
date is fast-approaching.
A vote is scheduled Wednesday evening, but if past is prelude, anything can
still happen.
Senate Democrats want a much larger package than what the House sent them -
some $40 billion more - to extend unemployment insurance benefits, and also
give checks to low-income seniors and disabled veterans by counting Social
Security as earned income.
The Senate Democrat version would also provides energy tax credits for the
biofuels and coal industries, and provide larger tax rebate checks to more
Americans.
One problem: That bill only received three Republican votes when it passed
last week out of the Senate Finance Committee, 14-7.
Some Republicans in the Senate are caving to mounting pressure from powerful
lobbying groups - like AARP - and have budged to support the additions that
would benefit seniors and disabled vets. But they haven't agreed to the
other, wider Democratic provisions.
To add another wrinkle, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told
reporters he is crafting his own amendment to the House-passed bill. The
bill would include seniors and vets, but he would keep the overall cost of
the stimulus package to about $150 billion - roughly the cost of the House
version, and about 1 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, a number Bush
was aiming for.
McConnell's plan would add the groups without adding to the price by
trimming down the size of the rebate checks to $500 for individuals making
less than $75,000; $1,000 for married couples making less than $150,000.
But even Democrats don't appear to be standing on firm ground on the
package. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also has taken a
different tack in recent days.
Just Thursday, Reid told reporters he wanted to see seniors and vets added,
at the very least, to the House bill.
Reid's Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus, D-Mont., delivered an
impassioned speech on the floor that day calling for this addition, if
nothing else.
But five days later, on Tuesday, Reid said members only get one bite of the
apple: It's the Finance Committee package - with all the bells and
whistles - or nothing. He said he would not hold a vote on the pared-down
version that would only add seniors and veterans.
Why the about-face? Reid told reporters it resulted from "when we finally
saw in black and white that there was a significant increase in unemployment
(from last week's new Labor Department statistics) and we saw the tremendous
outpouring of support from around the country for the unemployment benefits
extension, (and from) the business community, which has wrapped their arms
around this package.
"I think the package is pretty good. We should go for the whole package,
rather than pick and choose [seniors and vets]."
In light of last week's quick-change on policy, reporters quizzed Reid
Tuesday on whether it was a posture that would eventually lead back to the
stripped-down, vets-and-seniors-only package. Hedismissed the notion.
"I think that if they think this is a bluff, wait until we have this vote
and they'll find out if it's a bluff. I'm not much of a bluffer," Reid said.
For the critical test vote coming up Wednesday evening, Democratic
presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are expected to
return for the vote to help boost its chances of survival.
Meanwhile, AARP took a poll over the weekend showing 90 percent of Americans
surveyed agreed seniors should receive rebate checks. It remains to be seen
if the Finance Committee package will pass. It is not expected to, possibly
falling as little as two votes short.
Nevertheless, AARP is working hard alongside other business, financial, and
mortgage interest groups to garner enough votes for the Democrats' measure.
"We're not taking any vote for granted, but we're optimistic that the Senate
will pass the Baucus-Grassley package," AARP spokesman Jim Dau told FOX
News.
Waiting for Your Rebate Check? Don't Hold Your Breath
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
WASHINGTON - If you are wondering where your tax rebate check is - you
know, the big promise from the economic stimulus package being developed in
Washington - don't hold your breath.
It's stuck in the Senate as members, Republican and Democrat alike, are
arguing over what to add to the version that passed last month in the House.
Lawmakers still hope to get a bill to President Bush by Feb. 15, but that
date is fast-approaching.
A vote is scheduled Wednesday evening, but if past is prelude, anything can
still happen.
Senate Democrats want a much larger package than what the House sent them -
some $40 billion more - to extend unemployment insurance benefits, and also
give checks to low-income seniors and disabled veterans by counting Social
Security as earned income.
The Senate Democrat version would also provides energy tax credits for the
biofuels and coal industries, and provide larger tax rebate checks to more
Americans.
One problem: That bill only received three Republican votes when it passed
last week out of the Senate Finance Committee, 14-7.
Some Republicans in the Senate are caving to mounting pressure from powerful
lobbying groups - like AARP - and have budged to support the additions that
would benefit seniors and disabled vets. But they haven't agreed to the
other, wider Democratic provisions.
To add another wrinkle, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told
reporters he is crafting his own amendment to the House-passed bill. The
bill would include seniors and vets, but he would keep the overall cost of
the stimulus package to about $150 billion - roughly the cost of the House
version, and about 1 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, a number Bush
was aiming for.
McConnell's plan would add the groups without adding to the price by
trimming down the size of the rebate checks to $500 for individuals making
less than $75,000; $1,000 for married couples making less than $150,000.
But even Democrats don't appear to be standing on firm ground on the
package. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also has taken a
different tack in recent days.
Just Thursday, Reid told reporters he wanted to see seniors and vets added,
at the very least, to the House bill.
Reid's Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus, D-Mont., delivered an
impassioned speech on the floor that day calling for this addition, if
nothing else.
But five days later, on Tuesday, Reid said members only get one bite of the
apple: It's the Finance Committee package - with all the bells and
whistles - or nothing. He said he would not hold a vote on the pared-down
version that would only add seniors and veterans.
Why the about-face? Reid told reporters it resulted from "when we finally
saw in black and white that there was a significant increase in unemployment
(from last week's new Labor Department statistics) and we saw the tremendous
outpouring of support from around the country for the unemployment benefits
extension, (and from) the business community, which has wrapped their arms
around this package.
"I think the package is pretty good. We should go for the whole package,
rather than pick and choose [seniors and vets]."
In light of last week's quick-change on policy, reporters quizzed Reid
Tuesday on whether it was a posture that would eventually lead back to the
stripped-down, vets-and-seniors-only package. Hedismissed the notion.
"I think that if they think this is a bluff, wait until we have this vote
and they'll find out if it's a bluff. I'm not much of a bluffer," Reid said.
For the critical test vote coming up Wednesday evening, Democratic
presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are expected to
return for the vote to help boost its chances of survival.
Meanwhile, AARP took a poll over the weekend showing 90 percent of Americans
surveyed agreed seniors should receive rebate checks. It remains to be seen
if the Finance Committee package will pass. It is not expected to, possibly
falling as little as two votes short.
Nevertheless, AARP is working hard alongside other business, financial, and
mortgage interest groups to garner enough votes for the Democrats' measure.
"We're not taking any vote for granted, but we're optimistic that the Senate
will pass the Baucus-Grassley package," AARP spokesman Jim Dau told FOX
News.
