Congress, White House reach final stimulus deal

US lawmakers reached a compromise deal yesterday on a $789 billion package of tax cuts and spending to rescue the ailing economy.

Harry Reid, leader of the majority Democrats in the Senate, said some 3.5 million jobs would be created under the package and that more than one-third of it would be dedicated to tax cuts and incentives for middle-class Americans.

He did not reveal specific details of the compromise, which pulled together separate stimulus Bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives.

"This has been a give-and-take," Mr Reid told reporters.

Republican Senator Susan Collins said the package included $150 billion in infrastructure spending, ranging from transportation to high-speed Internet projects.

The Senate had passed an $838 billion stimulus Bill while the House of Representatives had approved a $820 billion Bill. Negotiators worked around the clock to reconcile the differences and shave off spending and tax incentives to get it below $800 billion as some Republicans demanded.

Democrats control both chambers in Congress and fellow Democrat Obama, in office for just three weeks, has pushed for a conclusion to the legislation by the weekend in hopes it will begin to create and save up to four million jobs in an economy that has seen millions of workers laid off.

Hoping to shore up the vital support of three moderate Republican senators - some Republican votes are needed in the Senate for the Bill to pass - congressional negotiators had been under pressure to shrink the overall size of the Bill.

US stock markets, which have been hammered in the last day amid concerns about aid to the financial sector, reversed losses after news of a deal on the stimulus.

Without a stimulus Bill, Mr Obama has said the country faces a possible economic "catastrophe".