Senate OKs Additional $2 Billion for Clunkers

Meredith Jessup | August 06, 2009 8:57 PM

As expected, the Senate has approved $2 billion in additional funds for the dried-up Cash for Clunkers program. President Obama plans to sign the bill right away so the Clunkers program can keep on truckin'. Phew! That could've been a real PR nightmare for the White House! The budget for the Clunkers program now sits comfortably at $3 billion--only three times the original estimate, but what's a few billion dollars amongst friends?

In other Clunkers news, common sense has apparently decided to take its own August recess. Earlier today, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn introduced an amendment that would try and save some traded-in clunkers from the scrap metal yard. Coburn's amendment would've allowed for "reliable" clunkers that have been traded-in to be donated to local charities to assist low-income families with no vehicle. Fifty-six Democratic Senators voted to defeat Coburn's amendment. Is the supposed War on Poverty taking backseat to a war on...car exhaust?