Obama Thinks Stimulus Will Pass Senate Soon

[tekisui]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama is privately telling senators in both parties he is confident his economic recovery plan will pass in the Senate by the end of the week, according to two senior administration officials and two Congressional officials.

"We will have the votes," said a senior administration official.

In a closed-door meeting Wednesday, the president said he was "cautiously optimistic" that he could round up at least 60 votes to cut off a possible filibuster, a Senate official added.

The Senate has 56 Democrats and two Independents who usually vote with them. There are 41 Republicans.

The fate of the package has been in some doubt as the president ran into opposition from moderate Democrats and Republicans in the Senate who are concerned about some of the spending projects in the package.

The president stepped up his personal lobbying for the bill this week, holding a series of one-on-one meetings in the Oval Office on Wednesday with key senators still on the fence. Obama met separately with Democrat Ben Nelson and Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/05/stimulus/

[elocs]

1. Didn't he also think the bill would get Republican support in the House

and it got none at all. Zero.

[tekisui]

2. It'll pass. Probably today.