Senators: Give retirees rebates, too

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retirees living off Social Security are frustrated that they won’t get tax rebate checks through a bipartisan economic stimulus package before the House. Senate Democrats on Friday began efforts to include them.

The Senate is also considering an extension of jobless benefits to the $150 billion package of rebates and business tax cuts in a deal wrapped up Thursday between House leaders and President Bush.

Bush urged Congress on Friday to quickly pass the package without any further spending. “I strongly believe it would be a mistake to delay or derail this bill,” Bush said.

“I understand the desire to add provisions from both the right and the left,” he said, adding that would be an error.

Senate Democrats are refusing to rubber-stamp the House measure. That raises the possibility of protracted negotiations if Democrats are successful in adding giving retirees tax rebates, extending unemployment benefits, boosting heating subsidies for the poor and temporarily increasing food stamp payments.

Those are all items floated by top Senate Democrats left out of the negotiations between the administration and House leaders.

They were all considered but tossed overboard in intense talks that produced a hard-won agreement among Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner.

Their plan would give individual taxpayers up to $600 in rebates, working couples $1,200 and those with children an additional $300 per child. The rebates would phase out gradually for individuals whose adjustved gross income exceeds $75,000 and for couples with incomes above $150,000.

But it would leave out about 20 million senior citizens living chiefly on Social Security. They wouldn’t get rebate checks unless they have at least $3,000 earned income or pay income taxes based on other sources such as earnings, interest, investments or private pension plans.

“Less than half of all Americans 65 and older wouldn’t get it,” said AARP spokesman Jim Dau.

It’s not clear whether seniors would ultimately be included in the final bill sent to Bush’s desk.

The House is planning to pass the measure as early as next week, leaving the Senate more than two weeks to pass its bill, reach an agreement with the House and Bush and meet Majority Leader Harry Reid’s promise of wrapping it all up by Feb. 15.

At a news conference Thursday, Pelosi, Boehner and Paulson were careful to respect the Senate’s right to change the bill.

“This is not going to preclude the Senate from being the Senate and doing what they do,” said Boehner.

At the same time, however, the three clearly believe that the Senate will feel enormous pressure to largely stick with the outlines of the Bush-Pelosi-Boehner agreement.

The worry is that the Senate will load up the bill with costly ideas that could provoke a confrontation with Bush and slow down the bill — and delay mailing the rebate.