"Cash for Clunkers" is back in gear.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he'd struck a deal with fellow Democrats and Republicans to save the wildly popular $1 billion program, with days to go before President Obama said its funding would have run out and Congress adjourned for recess, The Associated Press reported.
The Senate will vote today on tripling the cost of the rebate program, where car owners swap their "clunkers" for newer, more fuel efficient models. Since its inception, drivers have already signed 184,304 deals, where they receive rebates of $3,500 to $4,500 per clunker. The new bill provides an additional $2 billion to keep "clunkers" rolling through Labor Day without interruption, according to the New York Times.
"My guess is, at the end of the day, it will pass," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told the AP. But he said the program seemed like an example of "Congress choosing winners and losers among industries."
Get more: MSNBC, New York Times
