02/10/2009 - Bayh, Lugar split votes as Senate passes stimulus (Associated Press)
Bayh, Lugar split votes as Senate passes stimulusWASHINGTON (AP) -- Indiana's two senators followed the party lines in splitting their votes on the $838 billion economic stimulus bill backed by President Barack Obama.
Republican Sen. Richard Lugar voted against plan Tuesday, while Sen. Evan Bayh joined fellow Democrats in support. Just three Republicans helped pass the bill on a 61-37 vote.
Bayh said he believed the Senate improved the plan by cutting more than $100 billion not directly related to getting people back to work. Bayh said that while the bill was not perfect, it made job creation and tax cuts for the middle class top priorities.
Lugar, meanwhile, says that while he supports several provisions in the bill, it increases the national debt too much and includes items "completely unrelated to the immediate challenges before us."
