Federal stimulus clears hurdle in Senate
The U.S. Senate passed a cloture vote to end debate on the federal stimulus bill in that chamber. Sixty-one senators voted for cloture, narrowly meeting the requirement of 60 votes to end the debate. Thirty-six senators, all Republicans, voted against cloture.
The vote clears the way for a vote on passage tomorrow.
A spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle said today the governor "has some concerns" about a compromise stimulus package now before the U.S. Senate that carries a price tag of $827 billion.
One report estimated Wisconsin would receive nearly $600 million less in the Senate compromise compared to the version the House passed last month; a bulk of that difference would be reductions in money for education.
Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner said the details of the bill are "changing hour by hour."
"The governor in particular is working hard to make sure Wisconsin schools get what they need to continue moving forward," Sensenbrenner said.
If the Senate approves the stimulus package it will next head a conference committee to iron out the differences between the House and Senate bill. U.S. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and a key architect of the bill, is expected to sit on that conference committee.
