This vote was on an amendment by John Thune, R-S.C,. that would ban funding in the economic stimulus bill for any program not authorized before Feb. 1, 2009.  The amendment was offered to a massive economic stimulus bill intended to spur job creation and economic growth. 

“The point very simply is that, in order for a stimulus to be effective, it has to be timely, it has to be targeted, it has to be temporary. Funding in this or programs in this that are created that are new programs are going to be none of the above. It is going to take a long time, as we all know, to get regulations in place and create the bureaucracies. All these programs that are new programs included in this legislation are going to take a very long time to implement and, therefore, I do not believe ought to be considered stimulus and they ought not be funded as a part of this stimulus bill,” Thune said. 

Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said so far no authorization bills have passed the Senate, which means “many worthwhile items might not meet the terms.”

“In addition, there are new programs which were authorized but not before February 1, such as the $9.5 billion for energy loan guarantees, $3.2 billion for western area power, $5.5 billion for competitive grants. These are dead. I urge all of you, keep in mind that this is not an easy amendment. This is a tricky one. I vote no,” Inouye said.

By a vote of 35-62, the amendment was rejected.  Of Republicans present, 35 voted for the amendment and five voted against it.  Every Democrat present voted against the amendment.  The end result is that the bill went forward without language that would have banned funding in the economic stimulus bill for any program not authorized by law prior to Feb. 1, 2009.