US Senate approves economic bailout package

WASHINGTON: The US Congress on Friday approved a 787-billion-dollar package of tax cuts and fresh spending to salvage the broken US economy, handing President Barack Obama his biggest yet political victory. The Senate voted 60-38 to pass the measure hours after it cleared the House of Representatives by a lopsided 246-183 margin, setting the stage for Obama to sign the measure into law before his self-imposed February 16 deadline.The new president had set a February 16 target date for the package -- a blend of tax cuts, aid to hard-hit Americans, and investment in infrastructure, education and energy that he says will save or create 3.5 million jobs.But the victory was bittersweet, as lawmakers were voting on a compromise stimulus plan that was smaller than Obama had requested, and most Republicans rebuffed his appeals to join Democrats in approving the bill.