Senate struggles over stimulus bill

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan coalition of senators withheld support Thursday for President Obama's economic recovery package, leaving the scope and timing of his first major initiative in doubt as they sought to cut more than $100 billion from the legislation.

A bipartisan group of senators worked furiously in backroom negotiations in an effort to remove spending that would not quickly create jobs or encourage spending. And they spent much of the day scrutinizing the 736-page bill and wrangling over what to remove from the bill, which has ballooned to $937 billion.

Aides said the group had drafted a list of nearly $90 billion in cuts, including $40 billion in aid for states, $4.1 billion to make federal buildings energy efficient and $1.5 billion for broadband Internet service in rural areas. But they remained short of a deal, and talks were expected to resume this morning.

Vote could come as early as today

"We're trying to focus it on spending that truly helps stimulate the economy," Collins said. "People have different views on whether or not a program meets that test. So we're continuing to talk. We get close, and then it drops back, and then we get close again."

Senate leaders had hoped to vote on the measure Thursday, but Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would allow the centrist, bipartisan group to continue working and that, if it reaches consensus, he will schedule a vote for today on final legislation. If that fails, he will call for a rare Sunday session for a key procedural vote that would require 60 votes for passage.

Senate approval would lead to a House-Senate conference next week, when congressional leaders would try to work out differences, with the goal of sending a compromise bill to Obama's desk before Presidents' Day, Feb. 16. But the fate of the stimulus plan, designed to stem the nation's recession by saving more than 3 million jobs, remains unclear.

Obama, who will make a televised speech to the nation about the economy on Monday night, warned of more bad news ahead and urged the Senate to act. "This is the moment for leadership that matches the great test of our time," he said.

The Senate debate took place on the eve of the release of January jobs data. Economists expect the national unemployment rate to hit 7.5 percent, and to reach double digits in some industrial states. Last week, almost 4.8 million people collected unemployment insurance, the highest weekly number in 40 years.

Despite the president's personal lobbying campaign, the number of Republicans committed to working in the bipartisan group appeared to be shrinking as the day went on, leaving congressional Democrats a few votes shy of the 60 they need.

"If this is the change we can believe in," South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham said, invoking Obama's own campaign slogan to mock his pledges of bipartisanship, "America's best days are behind her."

Republicans suggested that Democrats were angry because they simply had not been able to generate support for their proposal. "The question is not doing anything versus something," said the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "The question is the appropriateness of an almost $1 trillion spending bill to address the problem."

Democratic leaders suggested growing frustration with the Republican opposition. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said: "Has bipartisanship been a failure? Well, so far it's not working. But it takes two to tango, and the Republicans aren't dancing."

Will it be up to Collins and Snowe?

The bill could rest in the hands of Obama securing the votes of the two Maine senators -- Republicans Collins and Olympia Snowe -- and every Democratic vote, including that of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. He has brain cancer and has not returned to the chamber since having a seizure during Obama's inaugural ceremonies more than two weeks ago.

At issue is the huge package of tax breaks and government spending intended to spur an economic recovery that is the centerpiece of Obama's agenda. Two sticking points for Republicans were funding for school construction and Head Start, both viewed as worthy programs but not ones that would provide a sufficient boost to the economy.

Some items on the cutting board included $99 million in technology upgrades for the State Department's National Cyber Security Initiative; $200 million for benefits for Filipino veterans; $55 million for the Historic Preservation Fund; and $122 million for the Coast Guard to buy polar icebreakers. But senators also debated whether to keep in the bill numerous big-ticket items that their colleagues had fought for. About $14 billion in Pell grant funding appeared to have survived.

The New York Times, Associated Press and Boston Globe contributed to this report.