Senate Majority Leader Says Senate Won't Take Recess Until Stimulus Bill Is Passed; House And Senate Need To Reconcile Their Bills; General Petraeus Says Afghan Is In A 'Downward Spiral'
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in CNN NEWSROOM. The stimulus, the bailout, all that coming to you in just a second. Plus, you know how the Obama White House wants to be more open. We will meet the lady in charge of that effort. She will give us an inside look at how they plan to open the doors. And D.C. might be a little dirty for her, but one porn star still wants to go as a senator. How do you think she'll stack up against the incumbent? But first, all things serious, that wasn't technically a campaign rally you saw last hour in Elkhart, Indiana, or will see tomorrow in Ft. Myers, Florida, or Thursday in Peoria, Illinois, but they're pretty darn close. President Obama is heading back to Washington where senators are nearing a procedural vote on an $800-plus-billion economic stimulus plan. And where Brianna Keilar is watching their every move, we go to her. Hey, Brianna.</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. Debate under way ahead of this key test vote coming at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time today. This is going to tell us if that deal that was struck on Friday night bringing a few Republicans on board, with presumably enough votes to push this out of the Senate, it's going to tell us if it really did that. The next step after that, assuming that this bill then does get out of the Senate, is for the House and the Senate to hash out their differences, because at that point, they will have passed separate bills. Now, this isn't necessarily going to be an easy process, because Democrats in the Senate had to give on some things here, as you recall, in that deal they brokered Friday night. They had to cut $100 billion in spending, including $40 billion in education spending, a big priority for Democrats. Also, allowing tax credits for homes and new cars, so there is some ground to be covered between the House and the Senate but we just heard a short time ago from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the Senate, at least, isn't going home until this is all over.</s>SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: We will continue to move forward on this legislation. We're not going to leave for our Presidents Day recess until we complete this. I've said on a number of other occasions, Madam President, that if people out there are thinking we're going to take a vacation for a week when we leave Washington, that's not the case. We have things to do in our home states.</s>KEILAR: So the sense you're getting is that a lot of folks here on the Hill are leaving their next weekend open, Kyra, in case this goes on into the weekend. We heard before from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the House, as well, will not go on recess until there's a bill headed to president Obama's desk.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. Now, the plan now facing the Senate was born in a bipartisan breakthrough Friday night. It's $827 billion worth of federal spending and tax breaks, somewhat bigger than the plan that passed the House but almost $100 billion smaller than the package that senators were wrestling over all last week. Tax breaks make up about a third of the bottom line and last we checked, three Republican senators were expected to sign on. Now, Elkhart is a natural choice for an economic stimulus sales pitch. That small city's jobless rate, twice the national average, mainly due to the hard times at the region's RV plant. The president promised help is on the way, but his real message was aimed at Capitol Hill. Take a listen.</s>BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me be clear. I'm not going to tell you that this bill is perfect. It's coming out of Washington, it's gone through Congress, you know. Look, it's not perfect. But it is the right size, it is the right scope, broadly speaking, it has the right priorities to create jobs that will jump-start our economy and transform this economy for the 21st century.</s>PHILLIPS: Now, the economy is expected to be a big part of President Obama's first primetime news conference. It comes your way tonight, 8 o'clock Eastern, right here on CNN. The stimulus plan has stolen some thunder from the government's $700 billion bailout of banks. That's about to change. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to spell out his massive overhaul of the rescue plan tomorrow. He is going to explain his changes today, but put it off a day to focus on the stimulus bill. As you may recall, the Bush administration doled out the first half of the Troubled Asset Relief Fund, TARP, for short, before leaving office. The commander in chief is putting his marching orders for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan on hold, at least for now. Barbara Starr following the developments at the Pentagon. Barbara, what did you find out?</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we're now seeing all kinds of delays in decisions about getting troops out of Iraq and sending more troops to Afghanistan. Let's take Iraq first. Senior Pentagon officials now confirming to CNN they are looking at more than just the 16-month withdrawal plan that Mr. Obama campaigned on. They are also looking at proposals for a 19-month withdrawal and a 23-month withdrawal. The president wants to see the risks associated with all of these options. No indication about when he'll make a decision. Afghanistan may be more problematic. Senior Pentagon officials also saying that the White House is making it clear that it's reluctant to commit that large number of forces that as recently as last week, it was planning to send to Afghanistan fairly quickly, reluctant until it sees more of the strategy review from the Pentagon, what can be done to make Afghanistan better. But senior Pentagon officials say the security situation there is so dire, that they really do need to get troops there. Just this weekend General David Petraeus, the top commander for the region, said to an audience in Europe, quote, "Arresting and then reversing the downward spiral in security in Afghanistan will require not just additional military forces, but more civilian contributions." But look at those words, Kyra. "Downward spiral in security in Afghanistan," right from General David Petraeus. It couldn't be more serious. The Pentagon is waiting to give the president its options and to see when he's ready to make a decision - Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, thanks so much. Let's go to Israel now and the Jewish nation's crucial elections. Israelis go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new government. The winner picks the prime minister. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his right-wing Likud Party, hold a slim lead in the latest polls; close behind, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and her centrist Kadima Party. The outcome will likely mean a fragile coalition and tough challenges for President Obama. The backdrop to vote is the Israeli military's recent offensive in Gaza to try and stop militant rocket fire into southern Israel. Anguish in Australia. The Land Down Under wrestles with its worst natural disaster amid outrage that the hand of man may have played a role.