Washington, DC - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was on hand at the White House today as President Bush signed an economy-boosting bill with rebates for 20 million American seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans originally left out of economic stimulus proposals. Last week, Congress voted to add Baucus-authored provisions for seniors and disabled vets to a House-passed economic stimulus bill.
Baucus presented and the Finance panel passed a package of provisions that would extend stimulus rebate checks to seniors living solely on Social Security and to veterans living on non-taxable disability benefit.
“America’s seniors and disabled vets asked Congress not to forget them in the economic stimulus effort, and we did not forget them," Baucus said. “I’m proud that the Finance Committee stuck to its guns and worked for a better economic stimulus bill. The House and the President clearly saw that our changes to the original stimulus agreement were morally right and fiscally smart. Low-income seniors and disabled vets need this money and they will inject it into the economy right away.
The timely addition of these 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans to this economic stimulus law just goes to show how much Congress can accomplish when we work together and keep our eyes on the ball."
The new economic stimulus law also includes Finance Committee safeguards to ensure that illegal immigrants will not receive rebates. A summary of the economic stimulus bill signed into law by the President today is available at http://www.finance.senate.gov/.
Source: Ranking Member’s News
