Washington, DC—This evening, the Senate will consider a procedural vote that would keep alive the bipartisan plan to strengthen the economy and improve upon the House stimulus package by including seniors, disabled veterans and the unemployed.
The minority has threatened to filibuster the Senate Finance Committee’s package and thus, deny help to those who need it most. If the vote fails today because of this obstruction, the Senate leadership has said this is the last attempt to improve the economic stimulus bill.
U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) released the following statement:
I remain committed to passing a timely, temporary, and targeted economic stimulus package in the Senate that will help Americans in need. The Senate Finance Committee package will help 20 million additional American seniors, 250,000 disabled veterans, and provide 13 weeks of additional unemployment insurance benefits to help hurting families affected by job loss. These people work hard, pay taxes, and need help to continue to contribute to the weakening economy.
In addition, this bill will help families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes, help low-income Americans afford the rising costs of heating those homes, and help struggling small businesses. It is clear to me that these are the people who need help most, and I will support the Finance Committee package.
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For more information on Senator Tim Johnson visit his website at http://johnson.senate.gov. To contact Senator Johnson’s communications office via e-mail, write his Communications Director at Julianne_Fisher@Johnson.Senate.gov or his Deputy Communications Director at Megan_Smith@Johnson.Senate.gov.
