US Senate to vote on bailout package

Barack Obama has renewed his pledge to make kickstarting the US economy a top priority in his first 100 days in office.

The US president-elect says he wants to begin direct government spending on critical infrastructure that will set the table for long-term economic growth.

It comes as the US Senate prepares to vote today on a resolution to block the release of the 350-billion dollars remaining from the 700-billion financial bailout package.

Obama pressed Senators to reject the measure stressing that aid will not be used for beleaguered companies in other sectors. Many Republicans were angered last month when some rescue funds were given to US carmakers.

If the resolution fails, Bank of America, will be a step closer to getting more federal support.

The largest US bank has been struggling to digest its buyout of former Wall Street brokerage giant Merrill Lynch.

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tags: Bank of America, Barack Obama, USA