"We all agree that something must be done to jump-start the economy, and this week we'll have the opportunity to debate ideas to dramatically improve the bill passed by the House," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said. "We agree with President Obama that we should trim things out that don't put people back to work."

Obama has voiced repeatedly that the bill, aimed at boosting employment, social spending and consumption, was necessary to recover the ailing economy.

Congressional budget analysts said that the Senate version would cost US$884.5 billion over 10 years, a significant increase from the House US$819 billion version.

A Democratic source told reporters that there was a consensus that when all possible additions or changes to the bill have been decided, the total cost should not exceed US$900 billion.

The Senate measure includes US$325 billion in tax breaks and US$560 billion in direct spending to spur the economy by putting more money in the hands of consumers, encouraging businesses to save or create jobs, and funding infrastructure projects to boost employment.

The House measure combines roughly US$275 billion in temporary tax cuts for both individuals and businesses along with about US$544 billion for job-creating investment projects, health industry improvements, expanded aid for the poor and unemployed, and improving education.

The Senate measure would pump US$694 billion into the economy by the end of fiscal 2010, or about 78 percent of the overall cost of the bill, while the House version would only pump two-thirds of the money by the end of 2010.

Some Republicans tried to propose additional income tax cuts for middle-class workers.

The provision may be hard to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but the Republicans may garner more support for efforts to strip out spending that they do not believe will generate jobs quickly, said US media.

Democrats, who have 58 of the 100 seats in the Senate, will need at least two Republican votes in the Senate to avoid procedural roadblocks which could stymie the measure.

"I count the votes. I know the reality. We need Republican support to pass this measure, so we're trying to find" a balance that will get that support, said Senator Richard Durbin.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said that he hopes to complete debate by the end of the week.

That would give House and Senate negotiators a week to reconcile the two measures before the February 13 deadline set by Congressional leaders for sending a final bill to Obama, according to the US media.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2009)