Governor David Paterson was in Washington D.C. yesterday, along with other governors meeting with President Obama to discuss what the states will get from the federal stimulus package. NY State got $24.6 billion of the $787 billion package, and Paterson announced the first projects that will benefit—eleven upstate roads projects, like "Replacement of the I-86 Bridge over Rte. 415 in the Town of Erwin, Steuben County" and "Culvert repairs in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties," which are "shovel-ready." more ›

Today, NY Post editorial cartoonist Sean Delonas's offering that ties in the Connecticut chimp incident with the federal stimulus package is raising many eyebrows. The Huffington Post's Sam Stein wrote, "At its most benign, the cartoon suggests that the stimulus bill was so bad, monkeys may as well have written it. Most provocatively, it compares the president to a rabid chimp. Either way, the incorporation of violence and (on a darker level) race into politics is bound to be controversial. Perhaps that's what Delonas wanted." more ›

If you missed This Week with George Stephanpoulos, you missed Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) bickering with Senator Chuck Schumer about the federal stimulus package and negotiations. Schumer had just mentioned Republican amendments added to the package, and Graham said, "If I may say, if this is going to be bipartisanship, the country's screwed. I know bipartisanship when I see it. I've participated in it. I've gone back home and gotten primary opponents because I wanted to be bipartisan. There's nothing about this process that's been bipartisan. This is not 'change we can believe in.' You rammed it through the House. You started out with the idea of, 'we won, we write the bill.'" Luckily, you can see Graham's Potter Stewart-esque explanation here. more ›

Lawmakers announced that there was agreement between House and Senate for a federal stimulus package, which now totals $789 billion. Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid said, "The differences between the House and Senate versions, we’ve resolved." He also alluded to a lot of “give and take, and if you don’t mind my saying so, that’s an understatement.” Politico reports that President Obama, who took his case for a stimulus package to the public on Monday night, was very involved: "In the last 24 hours the president has stepped forward to put his stamp on the package and defuse intra-party wrangling while also putting new options on the table including scaling back his own tax cuts." (A House staffer told Politico, "Basically it is whatever Obama wants.") In other news, Treasury Secretary Geither defended the lack of bank bailout plan details, "We’re going to do this carefully, consult carefully, so we don’t put ourselves in the position again [where there are] quick departures and changes in strategy." more ›

Senator Charles Schumer, who has been championing what NYC and NY State will get from the federal stimulus package even before there was an agreement for its passage, is naturally thrilled Republicans have come around to add their support. There will be $5 billion in Medicaid funding, as well as mass transit infrastructure money. Newsday reports that the senior Senator from NY admitted, "[The plan] doesn't mean there won't be any pain, but it means instead of using a meat ax, they can use a scalpel." Given the jobs the money will help spur (or maintain), he said, "For the first time, New Yorkers can feel proud and walk tall, because the federal government is coming to our aid." more ›

Capping off a day that begun with news that 598,000 jobs were shed in January, raising the unemployment rate to 7.6%, a bipartisan deal was reached between Senate Democrats and moderate Republicans that will clear the way for an economic stimulus package to be passed by the Senate. more ›

In advance of President Obama's meeting with Republican leaders to discuss his proposed $825 billion stimulus package later today, Politico reports that House GOP leader John Boehner and whip Eric Cantor "told their rank-and-file members... during a closed-door meeting to oppose the bill when it comes to the floor Wednesday." Republicans have argued that the plan doesn't jumpstart the economy fast enough and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) suggested there was bi-partisan dissent, "Listening to what [Obama] said he wanted, we think we may be closer to that, oddly enough, than the Democratic majority, which seems to be pulling in the direction of fewer tax — less tax relief and things like fixing up the [National] Mall. You know, most people don't think that's the way we ought to spend stimulus money." However, Boehner is appreciative that Obama is having meetings with the GOP, since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn't met with them at all. Guess we'll have to see about that $3.4 billion for NYC. more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Charles Rangel announced that $3.4 billion was headed NYC's way in President Barack Obama's $825 billion federal stimulus package. Of course, the package needs to be first, but that's just a detail standing in the way of a Sunday press conference, right? more ›