Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/congress-strikes-tentative-789b-deal-on-stimulus-plan Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Congressional leaders announced that they have reached a deal on a stimulus plan Wednesday -- although talks continued late in the day on the bill's final details. The Hotline's Amy Walter discusses the negotiations and Jeffrey Brown reports on the day's Congressional testimony on the financial rescue plan. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JUDY WOODRUFF: Leaders in the Senate reported a tentative deal today on the final version of an economic stimulus bill. Gwen Ifill has our lead story report. GWEN IFILL: Senate negotiators emerged from behind closed doors today to announce hard-won agreement on a $789 billion economic recovery plan. The lawmakers said the plan would save or create 3.5 million jobs, spend $150 billion on infrastructure and $270 billion in tax cuts.One of the key Senate negotiators, Maine Republican Susan Collins, emphasized that the agreement will cost less than either the House or the Senate version.SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), Maine: I'm particularly pleased that we have produced an agreement that has a top line of $789 billion. That is less than either the House- or the Senate-passed bills. It is a fiscally responsible number that reflects our efforts to truly focus this bill on programs and policies and tax relief that will help turn our economy around, create jobs, and provide relief to the families of our country. GWEN IFILL: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the quick action on the deal, which heads toward a floor vote later this week, was essential.SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), Senate Majority Leader: The middle ground we've reached creates more jobs than the original Senate bill and spends less than the original House bill. This bill creates 3.5 million jobs.More than one-third of this bill is dedicated to providing tax relief for middle-class families, cutting taxes for 95 percent of American workers. We all agreed we cannot short-change our future, which is why we're giving states the critical help they need to strengthen education and invest in our communities. GWEN IFILL: The House version would have cost $819 billion, the Senate version $838 billion. The lower figure agreed to today was reached, in part, by: removing a Senate-passed provision that would provide a $15,000 tax credit for the purchase of a home; trimming back the president's "Making Work Pay" tax credit from $500 to $400 for individuals and from $1,000 to $800 for married couples; and cutting back planned spending education and health care subsidies.But the compromise added some spending back into the pot, as well, including: $5 billion for aid to state governments, up to a total of $44 billion, and $6 billion for school construction, to be spent on repairs and modernization.SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), Montana: The bottom line, given the millions of jobs lost, millions of Americans in foreclosure, the recession in this country and in the world, this is the right thing to do. GWEN IFILL: President Obama has been hammering Congress to reach agreement, taking his appeal to friendly audiences in Indiana, Florida, and, today in Virginia, where he announced that one manufacturer promised to call off some of its 22,000 recently announced job cuts once the measure is signed into law.BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States: Caterpillar, which manufactures the machines used in this project, has announced some 20,000 layoffs in the last few weeks. And today the chairman and CEO of Caterpillar said that, if the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan passes, his company would be able to rehire some of those employees. GWEN IFILL: Three Senate Republicans, Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter, played a key part in negotiations. But today's compromise failed to sway many House Republicans.REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), House Minority Leader: But I've got to tell you, from everything that I'm hearing about the so-called deal, I'm very disappointed, very disappointed because it won't do what Americans expect that it will do, and that is create and preserve jobs in our country. It appears that they've made a bad bill worse by reducing the amount of tax relief for American families and small businesses and adding more wasteful Washington spending.REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), Virginia: From all that I hear, we are going to be faced with the final stage of the stimulus bill process largely kept in the dark. And my question is, what is the majority trying to hide by never allowing any ventilation of ideas, any discussion of what we have brought forward as the Republican vision to stimulate this economy? GWEN IFILL: The House and Senate conferees began hashing out the negotiated details this afternoon.