美国参议院继续就一个庞大的经济刺激议案进行时而争论不休的辩论。这个计划得到奥巴马总统的支持，但却受到共和党人的批评。
参议院民主党要人里德星期五敦促参议院通过这个议案。 他说，如果不采取行动，美国的经济衰退将会持续很多年。他说，美国和世界其他地方都在等待参议院的行动。
但是参议院少数党领袖麦康奈尔表达了共和党议员共同的忧虑，他们认为该项议案包含太多浪费性支出，缺乏重点。他称这项议案是一个美国犯不起的“万亿美元的错误”。
奥巴马星期四晚间在维吉尼亚州发表的一次演讲中再次呼吁议员们批准这项议案。他还驳斥了共和党人对这项议案的规模及其对已经很大的财政赤字影响的批评。
The U.S. Senate is continuing its sometimes contentious, debate on a massive economic stimulus bill supported by President Barack Obama but criticized by Republicans.
The top Senate Democrat, Harry Reid, urged the chamber Friday to pass the bill, saying if action is not taken, the country’s recession will last for many more years. He said the nation and the rest of the world are waiting for the Senate to act.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voiced concern shared by his Republican colleagues that the bill contains too much wasteful spending and lacked focus. He described the bill as a “trillion-dollar mistake” that the country cannot afford to take.
In a speech late Thursday in the state of Virginia, President Obama again called for lawmakers to pass the bill, and rejected criticism from Republicans over its size and impact on the already large national deficit.He rejected Republican demands for large tax cuts in the bill, saying those methods caused the current economic crisis. He also mocked critics who point out the package is nothing more than a spending bill.