Porkulus Deal Reached

Marc Ambinder twitters that a deal has been reached between congressional Dems and the White House for a $789.5 billion Porkulus Bill. No word yet on what's in it.

UPDATE: As implied above, no Republicans were involved in the conference negotiations:

Republicans have caught the Democrats in a midnight “stimulus” power play that seeks to cut Republican conferees out of the House-Senate negotiations to resolve a final version of the Obama “stimulus” package. Staff members from the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met last night to put together the “stimulus” conference report.

They intend to attempt to shove this $1.3 trillion spending bill through in the dead of the night without Republican input so floor action can take place in both chambers on Thursday.

I spoke with House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) moments ago about this latest version of Democratic “bipartisanship.” Pence told me, “I think the American people deserve to know that legislation that would comprise an amount equal to the entire discretionary budget of the United States of America is being crafted without a single House Republican in the room.”

My prediction - the Porkulus conference bill will not get a single GOP vote in the House, and only the three RINOs in the Senate. That means it will pass, but the Dems will own it.

UPDATE 2 - this description of one of the changes in the bill:

Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit would be reduced from $500 per worker to $400, with couples eligible for an $800 credit, instead of $1,000, said a Democratic aide close to the talks. This aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.

One of the few things in the bill that was actual stimulus was tax credits, and they're cutting those. I wonder if ACORN got a cut in their funding?