Ever since it's passage (even before), conservative voices in Congress have complained about the $787 economic stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The nut of the complaints is that the Act does nothing for the economy or the American people while adding nearly a trillion dollars to the federal deficit. So effective, apparently, is this charge, that the word "stimulus" has become a dirty word. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke had to walk back his statement that a second stimulus was being "hotly discussed and very seriously considered" by some members of Congress and the Obama Administration.

However, measures that are intended primarily to ameliorate the effects of the Great Recession with the added benefit of boosting GDP growth are finding warm receptions in Congress. Yesterday, the Senate unanimously approved H.R. 3548, a $45 billion package of tax cuts and a 14-week (plus and additional six for high-unemployment states) extension of Unemployment Insurance; the House is expected to move quickly on the bill in the coming days. In September, the House overwhelmingly approved (406-18) a $2.8 billion, fully offset, bill that would stay an increase in Medicare premiums in 2010.

Congress may also take up a proposal by President Obama to give retirees another one-time $250 bump in Social Security benefits. Obama veiled the need for the additional payments behind the fact that seniors would not see a cost of living adjustment next year. The flimsy excuse, however, was sufficient to draw conditional Republican support for the $14 billion plan.

Look forward to this piecemeal approach to economic stimulus helping Americans through this economic rough patch in the coming months as the unemployment rate tips 10% and businesses continue to cut payrolls.

Image by Flickr user that_james used under a Creative Commons license.