President Signs Stimulus Package (2/15/2008)

President Bush signed H.R. 5140, a $168 billion economic stimulus package, on Wednesday. The package is intended to help stimulate the economy, which many economists believe is heading into a recession, by putting more money back in the hands of consumers. Regardless of the legislation’s success, H.R. 5140 will have further implications on Capitol Hill as Congress heads into the fiscal year 2009 (FY09) budget cycle.

Marquee provisions in the bill include rebate checks to workers earning at least $3,000, whether or not they pay income taxes. The size of rebate payments are based on taxes paid last year, but will be shown as a credit for the 2008 tax season. Anyone without a Social Security number will not be able to receive one. While lawmakers and economists disagree on the probable benefits of the package, all interested parties agree that the bill’s quick package may not bode well for FY09 appropriations.

President Bush and Congressional Republicans signed on early to support the stimulus package, showing a very rare period of partisan cooperation. However, that period will end, specifically regarding federal funding, as soon as the House and Senate Budget Committees meet next month to draft the FY09 budget resolution. The President will remain staunch on his requested funding levels.

For fiscal year 2008 (FY08), the President vetoed the Labor-HHS-Education bill because it came in at nearly $12 billion over his request. He levied similar threats to all bills that year that he felt were too far above his request. The Democratic majority in the House was not strong enough to override his veto. The situation for FY09 is not any different.

The President will likely remain unmovable on his funding levels once again, and he still has enough Republican support in the House to sustain a veto. The fact that the President and his supporters in Congress signed off on $168 billion over two years for the stimulus package means that the Administration will be even more stringent on spending for the remainder of the year.

Resources:
Jay Heflin, “President Signs Stimulus Package Into Law,” Congress Now, February 13, 2008.
Author: SAS