What happens if the Senate approves a difference stimulus package?

Now that the House has passed the negotiated fiscal stimulus package and the Senate is talking about passing a different package, what happens if the Senate passes a significantly different package?

Simple: It all gets resolved "in conference." The party leadership, of both parties and from the House and the Senate meet to agree to assign representatives and senators to a conference committee. That conference committee then meets and "works out" a compromise package, which can be significantly different from either the House or Senate versions.

Although the conference committee will have wide latitude, subject to the "instructions" of the party leadership, they will have to be mindful that they do have to worry about the potential that the President may veto their conference legislation.

Get ready for some good old-fashioned back-room horse trading.

I am fairly confident that something close to the House package plus a few Senate items, including extended unisurance benefits, will get passed.

I also think that as part of the agreement by the Republicans to give the Democrats their goodies in conference, the Republicans will secure a Democratic leadership commitment to at least bring up the extension of the Bush tax cuts for consideration sometime during the year. In fact, the Republicans might even be willing to give the Democrats a fair amount of public spending in the package if they privately agree to support a vote for renewing the Bush tax cuts after the election.

-- Jack Krupansky