WASHINGTON — After adding disabled veterans to the list of those who will receive tax rebates but deleting illegal immigrants, members of Congress and the wealthiest Americans, the Senate Finance Committee approved on Wednesday an economic stimulus bill written by Chairman Max Baucus.

The top Republican on the panel, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, threw his support behind the $157 billion package Wednesday, saying it was a “much improved” version of what the House had passed. The Finance panel by a 14-7 vote passed the bill to provide rebates of $500 per individual, including many seniors, or $1,000 per married couple plus $300 per child. It would also extend unemployment aid and give tax credits for businesses and renewable energy.

“That’s our plan,” the Montana Democrat said. “It’s simple, with virtually the same rebate for every eligible American, it helps seniors, and it supports those hit hardest by the economic downturn with the extension of unemployment benefits and tax relief for struggling businesses.”

In a brief interview after the committee meeting, Baucus said the full Senate may pass the bill as soon as today. He predicted the bill would receive at least the 60 votes needed to pass any controversial legislation.

Senate leaders last week agreed to step back and allowed House leaders and the White House to come up with the original package. But Baucus and other senators decided to assert their role and modify that package, leading President Bush repeatedly to urge senators not to delay the stimulus.

Baucus said after his committee’s action that Congress could approve a final version even before a self-imposed deadline of Feb. 15.

Several Republicans on the committee objected to the Baucus bill, saying it cost a lot of money for an uncertain outcome and instead advocated permanent tax cuts.

“Giving people tax rebates and telling them to go shopping will do virtually nothing to grow our economy,” said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.

Baucus indicated he would support taking up a second stimulus package in the near future with other measures such as transportation and infrastructure funding. “This clearly is not the sole solution,” he said of his bill.

The compromise reached by House leaders and the White House would phase out rebates for individuals earning more than $75,000, but Baucus had eliminated that provision in his bill. On Wednesday he agreed to such caps but at a higher level, phasing out the rebates for individuals earning $150,000 or married couples earning $300,000.

A provision was also added to Baucus’s version that would specifically prevent members of Congress from receiving a rebate.

The Senate bill also includes a number of provisions worth $5.5 billion that would extend tax credits for energy efficiency measures and clean energy technologies. Several Republicans questioned how those provisions would quickly stimulate the economy.

Another measure not in the House version was put in the Senate bill to require taxpayers, their spouses and children each to have a valid Social Security number in order to receive a rebate check. That is meant to keep illegal immigrants from receiving rebates, although some Republican senators questioned how well it would work.

The Senate committee on Wednesday also added a measure allowing veterans receiving disability benefits to receive rebates, which Baucus said would affect a quarter-million people. Unlike the House version, the Senate bill also would allow Social Security benefits to count as income. Baucus said Wednesday that means at least 20 million more seniors would receive checks than under the House version.

The Senate bill would give a flat $500 rebate to any American with $3,000 in qualifying income on a 2007 tax return, or $1,000 to a married couple filing jointly. Even those whose income-tax liabilities are smaller than the rebate amount will receive it.

The House plan would boost those levels to $600 and $1,200. Both plans would give families another $300 per child under age 17.

Baucus’s version also would extend federal unemployment benefits and boost a business tax rebate, provisions not in the House bill. The Senate plan would extend federal unemployment benefits in all states by 13 weeks. Those in states with unemployment rates of 6.5 percent or higher would have an additional 13 weeks of eligibility.

Businesses would be allowed to write off losses retroactively for as many as five years under the Senate bill.

It would also expand expensing of equipment for small business and bonus depreciation for business property purchased and put into service by large companies during 2008.

Several senators tried to add amendments, some on unrelated measures, to the stimulus package during the Finance hearing. But most senators agreed to withdraw their provisions for the sake of moving the package quickly, while several other amendments were defeated.

Amendments were adopted to increase mortgage revenue bonds and to allow the homebuilding industry to write off some losses.