Passing Obama’s Stimulus Bill | Obama: The Price of Hope

NARRATOR: Obama needs just two Republican senators to defy their party. He turns to the veteran leader of the Senate Democrats. None of the Republicans who wanted to do something to help wanted to be the 60th vote. So I had to get 61 votes on everything. And it was very hard. The only ones I had any hope of getting—Specter from Pennsylvania, and then I had the two senators from Maine.

NARRATOR: Maine Senator Susan Collins, a Republican Reid identifies as vulnerable, is invited to the Oval Office.

SUSAN COLLINS (VOICEOVER): I was shocked when I walked in expecting to see the economic advisers, other staff taking notes, and instead, it was just the President and me. I told him I thought the package was too big. He told me that his economists were telling him that a smaller package would not do the trick and would not boost the economy sufficiently.

NARRATOR: Senator Collins agrees to meet behind closed doors with a group of 17 other senators. When senators from both parties meet outside the control of the leadership, it's called a gang. This gang of 18 came together with the primary focus of wanting to reduce the cost by at least $100 billion.

NARRATOR: Obama reluctantly agrees to the cuts because it looks as though this will buy him the votes he needs. But the Republican leadership leans hard on Republican members of the gang of 18.

SUSAN COLLINS (VOICEOVER): Although we had a number of Republicans who joined those first few meetings, gradually, the numbers diminished greatly. I didn't know if we could get this done. And I told the President that. I had to wait till his helicopter landed to give him the bad news, saying, I'm not sure I can get this done. I received this phone call from Harry Reid to come over to his office. And I really debated whether or not to go. I went into the room, and the room was already filled with Democratic leadership.

NARRATOR: Collins from Maine objects to a $16 billion program for school construction. I knew that that would create huge opposition on my side of the aisle, because we'd be redefining the federal role in education. And then the conversation kind of shifted over to health clinics. And there was a suggestion made that we could take some of those resources and put them into constructing community health clinics, even in the state of Maine. And she lit up and showed some real interest.

On this vote, the yeas are 61. The nays are 36. 3/5 of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.