Legislative Background
Recent Action on the Economic Stimulus
Presidential candidate Barack Obama began talking about a $30 billion economic stimulus package as early as last spring, when the economic news worsened and more and more homeowners began to default on their mortgages. By fall, the proposed price tag had risen to $175 billion. Then, a week before the new President was sworn in, House Democrats unveiled an $825 billion economic stimulus plan. House Stimulus Package. The original House proposal contained $550 billion in spending initiatives — including infrastructure, energy, health care, and education, as well as increases in the Food Stamp program and unemployment benefits. It also had…
