It’ll cost $789.5 billion. How did they cut it down from the House’s $820 billion or the Senate’s $838 billion? Why, they removed more tax cuts and put in more spending, silly. That’s their idea of a compromise: Screwing over one side and appeasing the other.

Negotiators on Capitol Hill wrangling with reconciling the House and Senate versions of the stimulus package have come to an agreement on the top line figure for the recovery bill: $789.5-billion, Democratic and Congressional sources tell me and my colleague Rick Klein

GOP sources say that negotiators are moving toward a deal but caution that it has not been finalized.

This is less than either the $838-billion passed by the Senate, or the $820-billion passed by the House. Committees have been told to get back to leadership with any problems meeting that figure by 11 am today.

The compromise scales back the tax credits for auto and home purchases and other tax cuts. It also restores some of the House education funding that the Obama administration has called “crucial.” restored.

What are the odds that Senate morons Specter, Snowe, and Collins still vote for the bill despite the loss of tax cuts and gain of spending? Do they even care what’s in the bill or are they more concerned with the final number? I’m going with the latter.

Via HAH.