House Passes Stimulus Bill Over GOP Opposition

It looks like the party will go on! The House of Representatives has passed the stimulus bill, with a vote of 244 to 188.

Here is the bad part of the news: while Obama spent time earlier this week lobbying the package, so to speak, among GOP House members, not a single GOP member voted for the stimulus bill. At the same time, 12 Democrats voted against it.

Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker (D-CA) said:

"One week and one day ago, our new President delivered a great inaugural address ... which I believe is a great blueprint for the future. With swift and bold action today, we are doing just that -- with this vote today, we are taking America in a new direction."

The GOP was not quite so encouraged by the bill. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH said:

"The underlying bill, while it has some good provisions, has a lot of wasteful provisions and slow-moving spending in it. We have to act -- we have to heal the ailing economy. The question is how to do it best; we think that fast-acting tax relief is the way to get it done."

It's unclear if the vote will hold in the Senate. While the Democrats hold a solid margin in the House, and do in the Senate as well, the threat of the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to overcome, looms large in the Senate.

The total of the House bill is $819 billion.

The Senate is expected to vote on its version next week. At that time, the House and Senate bills will need to be reconciled. Then, both chambers would have to vote on the final version in the coming weeks.

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