Biden: More Republicans will back final stimulus bill

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he expected the final draft of the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus bill in Congress to attract support from Republicans who did not vote for it earlier.

Congress and the Obama administration reached a deal on Wednesday on a $789 billion economic stimulus package that mixes tax cuts and new government spending to boost the faltering economy. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a final vote on the bill could come as early as Thursday.

Biden told a news conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he was confident the measure would garner support from some Republicans who did not back it earlier.

"It is my expectation that there will be Republicans who will vote for it, that there will be Republicans in the House and the Senate who have not voted for it before," Biden said.

The vice president said the passage of the bill would be an important psychological moment for the country as it grapples with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

"It is the thing that will kickstart the confidence, the psychology that we can climb out of this," he said.

Biden visited Pennsylvania to highlight the Obama administration's intention to spend billions on improving the United States' road and bridge network as part of the stimulus plan.

(Reporting by Ross Colvin, editing by David Alexander)