While normal Americans were watching the Dodgers-Cubs game on Wednesday night, the Senate passed the bailout bill on a 74-25 vote. The House was unable to pass the bill on Monday, but the Senate fixed the glaring problems of that bill and it breezed through with bipartisan support. How did the Senate fix and pass the bailout bill? They added a provision to repeal an excise tax on wooden arrows designed for children. Now why didn’t the House think of that?
Senators attached a provision repealing a 39-cent excise tax on wooden arrows designed for children to an historic $700 billion financial-markets rescue that passed tonight by a vote of 74-25. The provision, originally proposed by Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, will save manufacturers such as Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon, about $200,000 a year.
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Representatives for Wyden, a Democrat, and Smith, a Republican, didn’t immediately return calls.
This wasn’t enough for Senator Wyden (D), who still voted against the bailout. But it apparently swayed Senator Smith (R), who voted in favor of the bailout.