Tarrytown residents are expressing mixed opinions about the stimulus package that key lawmakers agreed to Wednesday.
Lawmakers announced a compromise on a $789 billion economic stimulus measure they say is designed to create millions of jobs. President Barack Obama could sign the bill within days.
"The middle ground we've reached creates more jobs than the original Senate bill and costs less than the original House bill," says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of the participants in an exhausting and frenzied round of bargaining.
The bill includes help for victims of the recession in the form of unemployment benefits, food stamps, health coverage and more, as well as billions for states that face the prospect of making deep cuts in their own programs.
At the Tarrytown Metro-North train station, some say they are skeptical the federal government can fix the country?s dire economic straits.
?No spending [plan] ever works,? says Brett Ruskin, of Rockland. ?I don't think the stimulus package is going to work at all.?
Others, such as Roberta Kalan, say they want to give the plan a chance.
?I'm hopefully optimistic,? says Kalan, of Rockland. ?We need to do something.?
AP wire services were used in this report.