"Not everybody is going to get every dollar they want, but it's still a very strong package," said Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. "This package proves three words: 'Yes, we can.' "
Three GOP moderates - Maine Sens. Susan M. Collins and Olympia J. Snowe, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania - quickly declared their support for the compromise. But two other GOP moderates - Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and George V. Voinovich of Ohio - said they would oppose it.
Hoping to drive their vote total up to 61, Senate Democrats are also counting on the vote of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who is battling brain cancer and has not been in the Capitol since he suffered a seizure on Inauguration Day. He returned to Washington yesterday to be available to vote.
After approval, the Senate and House will have to work out their differences and then vote on a final version of the legislation before sending it to Obama for his signature.
Details of the compromise agreement were not immediately available, but it met the goal set by Obama and some moderate Republicans that the price end up in the neighborhood of $800 billion.
There was confusion, even among senators who wrote the bill, about the fate of amendments that have been adopted on the Senate floor, including tax credits for people buying new cars and homes. If those are included in the bill, it could drive up the cost.
The agreement was announced after days of frenzied behind-the-scenes negotiations, involving close and deep involvement by the Obama administration. The president called Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid late Thursday night. Emanuel called him five times yesterday morning and joined the negotiations in person in the afternoon.
Yesterday's release of a dire unemployment report added to the urgency of Obama's and Reid's appeal that Congress move with speed. U.S. employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the report said, biggest one-month plunge since 1974. The unemployment rate now stands at 7.6 percent.
"These numbers demand action," Obama said. "It is inexcusable and irresponsible for any of us to get bogged down in distraction, delay or politics as usual while millions of Americans are being put out of work."
The White House announced that Obama would campaign for the bill early next week in Indiana and Florida. The president will also hold his first prime-time news conference Monday, giving himself another platform from which to push for the legislation.
