Stimulus Bill survives Senate test

The vote was 61-36, one more than the 60 needed to move the measure toward Senate passage. That in turn will set the stage for negotiations with the House on a final compromise on legislation the president says is desperately needed to tackle the worst economic crisis in more than a generation.

The Senate vote occurred as the Obama administration moved ahead on another key component of its economic recovery plan. Officials said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is due to outline rules for $350 billion in bail-out funds designed to help the financial industry as well as homeowners.

As for the stimulus, Obama said at the start of his televised news conference: "I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans."

The Senate vote was close but scarcely in doubt once the White House and Democratic leaders agreed to trim about $100 billion on Friday.

As a result, Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania broke ranks to cast their votes to advance the Bill.

Moments before the vote, the Congressional Budget Office issued a new estimate that put the cost at $838 billion, an increase from the $827 billion figure from last week. Ironically, the agency said provisions in the Bill intended to limit bonuses to executives at firms receiving federal bail-out money would result in lower tax revenues for the government.

All 36 votes in opposition were cast by Republican.