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President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid passed the critical economic stimulus bill with no Republican votes in the House, and only three Republican votes in the Senate. Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Senator Arlen Spector (now a Dem) of Pennsylvania, negotiated a $120 billion cut in the stimulus before giving their votes, and projected stimulus-related job growth dropped from 4 to 3.5 million. This is still a signal victory and reflection of last year's great accomplishments - the economic stimulus glass is much more than half full, although the challenges are tremendous.

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