The $819 billion economic stimulus bill the U.S. House of Representatives approved Wednesday includes $400 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to spend on "habitat restoration and mitigation activities." The bill does not specify how the money would be spent.
The agency, which regulates U.S. fisheries, is one of several agencies that would benefit from the massive bill, which is two-thirds government spending and one-third tax cuts.
The U.S. Senate will vote on its version of the bill, which is approaching $900 billion, next week. Should it pass, the two bills would then be combined.
Senate Republicans vowed yesterday to fight President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package, arguing it contains too much pork and too few tax cuts; no House Republicans voted for it Wednesday.
