President Bush today signed into law the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, terming it a “booster shot” for the struggling American economy. The centerpoint of the bipartisan measure is the injection of more than $120 billion into the hands of American taxpayers, with the hopes that such rebates will fuel increased consumer spending and avert a looming recession.

“The bill I’m signing today is large enough to have an impact,” said President Bush, “amounting to more than $152 million this year, or about one percent of the GDP.” The package will pay rebates of $600 to most individual taxpayers, and provide $1,200 for married couples, provided one makes less than $75,000 per year (or $150,000 for couples). The legislation - which moved from conception to passage in less than four weeks - additionally provides for business tax breaks as well as limited payments to seniors and disabled veterans.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said recently that the government plans on sending checks to approximately 130 million Americans, a move most economists agree will at least temporarily boost the U.S. economy, but not necessarily save it from a recession.

“My guess is that of the $110 billion to $120 billion of tax rebates, about half will go to U.S. products and services,” said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard and Poor’s. Many economic analysts, such as Wyss, have predicted that the number of Americans using their rebates to both save and pay off debt will reduce the impact of the stimulus on American producers and retailers.

American taxpayers should expect to begin seeing their refund checks in May, according to the Internal Revenue Service.