The U.S. Senate is meeting for a rare Saturday
session Saturday to debate a plan to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into
the struggling U.S. economy.
The Democratic majority in the Senate and a
few Republicans reached a compromise on the plan Friday, after agreeing to
reduce the cost of the package by about $110 billion.
Senate leaders say
they have enough support to pass the measure, which now totals about $780
billion.
In his weekly address Saturday, President Obama
praised the two sides for coming together. He called for the plan to be enacted
swiftly.
Republican leaders remain opposed to the measure. They have
complained that the bill is costly and wasteful.
Republican National
Committee Chairman Michael Steele says more of the money should be given to
families in the form of tax cuts.
Any Senate bill that is passed must be
reconciled with an earlier version approved by the House of Representatives,
before being sent to President Obama for his signature.