Deal on $827 billion bill reached late Friday; final vote expected Tuesday.
A massive economic stimulus deal struck late Friday is expected to pass the Senate with limited Republican support -- but as senators gathered for a rare Saturday session to debate the details, the partisan divide loomed large.
Though a few moderate Republicans likely will vote for the stimulus plan -- which President Barack Obama today said is necessary to avoid a "national catastrophe" -- many other Republicans are furious about the deal, warning it is filled with wasteful spending that will lead to a dangerously high deficit.
"There's evidence that this is kind of a sugar high," said Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz. "We put a lot of spending out right now. But once the high is gone and you crash, you're going to be in a recession."
The Senate proposal's $827 billion price tag -- up from a $780 billion figure touted Friday -- actually is more expensive than the $819 billion bill that passed the House of Representatives without any Republican votes.
Even if the current plan passes the Senate, as expected on Tuesday, it would need to be reconciled with the House version -- a process that is not expected to be easy. Senators expect tough negotiations because House Democratic leaders are not happy with some of the Senate changes.
"Keep in mind it's approaching $1 trillion," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "It's a piece of legislation that is job creating."
The House version passed last week included more spending but fewer tax cuts. House Democratic leaders are expected to push for more spending, arguing that it is needed to get the economy moving.
Obama today, in his weekly address, said officials must "do whatever it takes to keep the promise of America alive in our time.
"Yesterday began with some devastating news with regard to our economic crisis," he said, invoking "another round of alarming employment figures -- the worst in more than 30 years. Another 600,000 jobs were lost in January. We've now lost more than 3.6 million jobs since this recession began."
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