The House gave final approval yesterday to the stimulus package proposed by President Bush and sent it to the White House for signing.

It was just two weeks ago that the President proposed the measure. Can you imagine what kind of government we'd have if Congress worked that quickly all the time?

Of course, not every year is an election year and it's not every day that Congress gets to throw great gobs of money that we don't have at the American taxpayer. The combination guaranteed swift approval:

Moving with uncommon speed, Congress gave final approval on Thursday to a $168 billion economic rescue package, including rebates for taxpayers and tax breaks for businesses, that lawmakers and President Bush hope will set off a rush of springtime spending and spark the slowing economy.

A day after the Senate seemed mired in a partisan feud over a more expensive stimulus plan favored by Democrats, lawmakers cast that quarrel aside and approved a plan nearly identical to one the House adopted last week.

The Senate, voting 81 to 16, slightly expanded the House plan to include payments for some 20 million Social Security recipients and 250,000 disabled veterans who would not have qualified because they do not earn income. The final measure also specifies that illegal immigrant workers not receive payments.

The House swiftly approved those changes by a vote of 380 to 34 and sent the bill to the White House, where Mr. Bush had already said he would sign it.