The formal negotiations on the $825-billion economic stimulus start now.
Two Senate committees on Jan. 27 are scheduled to begin discussing, and probably amending, portions of their versions of the package. The Senate Appropriations Committee is to take up a $365-billion discretionary-spending section, drafted by the panel's new Chairman, Daniel Inouye (Hawaii). The Finance Committee will take up a proposed $275 billion in tax cuts and about $180 billion in funding, including aid to states, the unemployed and those on food stamps.