Bigger Bang for Bigger Bucks, but Un-Paid For The Senate is expected to add approximately $20 billion in new provisions to the $146 billion stimulus package agreed to last week by House leaders and Treasury. Two of these provisions will probably be added in a Finance Committee mark-up on Wednesday afternoon; another may be added by the Agriculture Committee in the next couple of days. Additional amendments may come when the package comes to the floor before a final vote as soon as Thursday or by the middle of next week. As of now, the major items likely to be added in the Senate are:

• Unemployment Insurance: increasing unemployment benefits for 13 weeks, and as much as 26 weeks in states where unemployment exceeds six percent (to be added by the Finance Committee)
• Food Stamps: increasing assistance to food stamp recipients by about 10 percent, or $5 billion (also to be added in Finance)
• Rebates for Seniors: broadening eligibility for tax rebates to include 20 million seniors and providing rebates of the same size to all people covered (to be added the Agriculture Committee or by amendment on the floor)

Forbes is also reporting that "senators are considering language that would allow companies reporting a net operating loss to attach that loss to a previous year that was profitable." The Senate package is still a work in progress, but its basic outlines are becoming clear. By and large, it is a stimulus package not just in name but in probable economic impact. Almost none of it is paid for; that is, almost all of it will add to the deficit.