Economic stimulus bill likely to die in Senate

By Dana Bash
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate was poised Wednesday to deal a final blow to stalled economic stimulus legislation, as both Democratic and Republican versions of the bill were expected to fail during procedural votes.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Tuesday he would withdraw the bills from the floor after procedural votes if neither one got the needed support to move forward.

"With great regret, I will pull the bill tomorrow, with the offer that should [Republicans] choose at any time to sit down and to sincerely want to find some solution, I am ready, we are ready and we will do that at a moment's notice," said Daschle, D-South Dakota.

Under Senate rules, the measures would need 60 votes to move forward. Daschle said he does not think either one will get enough support, at which point he'll shelve the bills and move on to other business.

President Bush and the Senate's Republican leader, Trent Lott of Mississippi, expressed disappointment with Daschle's decision.

"There's a lot of workers who hurt, and they need help. Our economy, while there's some good news, needs more stimulus," Bush said after returning to the White House from a trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"I still think we need to pass a bill that will help workers and help stimulate the economy. I'm just disappointed."

"It's a shame that Sen. Daschle has decided to start off the year on this kind of partisan note," Lott said in a statement. "The Daschle Democrats, in a cynical effort to score political points against this president, have chosen to fire a direct shot into a limping economy by killing the economic stimulus package."

Democrats, however, said the Republicans were playing procedural games by not allowing a straight vote on their version of the stimulus legislation

Despite the political bravado, the appetite for legislation to stimulate the economy has waned among both Democrats and Republicans since last year as economic figures look more promising.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress two weeks ago that the time for stimulus legislation had come and gone.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, a key Senate moderate who has supported Bush on economic issues, said Saturday she would not vote for a stimulus bill.

"I think it is fair to say that there is a growing number of economists that question the stimulus," Daschle said.

"But keep in mind, one thing they did say is, 'Do no harm.' And I think the Republican package does serious harm to the budget, to fairness in tax law and to a number of other issues that the American people care deeply about," he said.

The economic stimulus legislation has been floundering in Congress since last year. While the GOP-controlled House passed a stimulus bill, it could never get past the gridlocked Senate.

The Senate returned to the issue following its winter recess three weeks ago, when the Democrats offered what they called a "consensus" package with four provisions they said both sides agreed upon.

Republicans said the Democrats' package, which does not include any acceleration of the $1.35 trillion tax cut passed last year, would not do enough to stimulate the economy.

Even before Daschle announced his move, senior White House aides could smell defeat.

"Whether a rabbit can be pulled out of a hat, I don't know, but the odds are against that," one official said.