Stimulus bill nearing end of its sojourn through the Senate

There does appear to be a compromise deal in place for the stimulus bill in the Senate, but the overall status is a bit murky. Even after the deal was announced, debate on amendments continued. The Senate meets at noon today to continue the debate even after the so-called deal. Most importantly, there has not yet been a vote on the deal and it is not clear when the vote will occur. Maybe Sunday, maybe Tuesday, or so I have read. Or, maybe it could happen today. In truth, it is not clear what exactly is holding up a deal to schedule the vote. Maybe the so-called deal also involves permitting at least the show of attempting a bunch more amendments. Or, maybe people are waiting to hear whether the president is really willing to accept only 60 votes or whether he will be willing to offer some additional compromise to get closer to 70 votes. In any case, the joint House and Senate conference committee will be deep into blending their two bills by Tuesday or Wednesday.

In short, good progress is being made.

-- Jack Krupansky