LANSING – Michigan’s U.S. Senate members said Tuesday that the $838 billion stimulus bill that chamber passed on Tuesday will help put Michigan residents back to work once it takes effect, but the stimulus plan got mixed support from the House, which passed a resolution on largely a party-line vote supporting the stimulus measure.

The U.S. Senate passed the stimulus plan on a 61-37 vote Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) both voted for the controversial measure.

The U.S. Senate bill now must be resolved with the U.S. House bill, although officials doubt that will be completed before Gov. Jennifer Granholm delivers her proposed 2009-10 budget.

Levin said the stimulus bill was a critical step to reviving the national economy and would create jobs in Michigan and its tax provisions will help the state’s families.

Stabenow said the plan will help save the American middle class. “This is about what we’ve always done in Michigan: embracing opportunities and leading the world in innovations.”

Meanwhile in the House, support for a federal economic stimulus package making its way through Congress appeared divided as the chamber on Tuesday passed a non-binding resolution urging Michigan’s congressional delegation to back the bill.

HR 21 , introduced by Rep. Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens), asks the state’s congressional delegation to support the economic stimulus package and “work to maximize job creation for Michigan.”

Miller said with the private sector gutting jobs and losing revenue, there is a role for government to play in pumping money back into the economy.

“Economists of every stripe agree that doing nothing is not an option,” Miller said in urging members to vote for the resolution.

But the measure passed on a 67-41 vote, as House Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer (R-Bellaire) said the bill simply stimulates government, not the economy, by including political paybacks and pork barrel spending, such as tax breaks for Hollywood moviemakers to buy film and $1 billion for the 2010 U.S. Census, which he said is already overfunded.

Speaking to reporters, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said the plan would be better if it were focused more on tax cuts. But he also said the county could possibly double its infrastructure spending with the stimulus package.

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