Washington ? Congress finished putting together a tax cut Thursday less than half what President Bush wanted but still big enough to send 25 million families rebates of at least $400 this summer and boost middle-income workers’ paychecks about 4 percent the rest of the year.

“The more money people have in their pockets, the more likely there is somebody that’s going to be able to find work in America,” Bush said in praising the package, even though its $330 billion in tax cuts over the next decade is less than what was in a Senate plan he dismissed last month as “little bitty.”

Most workers would see bigger paychecks beginning in July, and many parents would get an advance refund worth $400 for each child late this summer. Bush said he would sign it after votes were completed today by the House and Senate.

The last sticking point was how to distribute $10 billion in new Medicaid assistance. The money is half the $20 billion in new aid going to fiscally strapped state and local governments in the next two years, bringing the total cost of the package to $350 billion, the maximum that moderate Senate Republicans would allow.

“Sometimes I get everything I want, sometimes I don’t,” Bush told lawmakers at a private meeting at the Capitol, according to White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

The president originally sought $726 billion in tax cuts, an amount that a majority in the Senate said was too expensive when the government was expecting to run up a deficit of at least $300 billion, and possibly $400 billion.

“The conference agreement has more stimulative impact than either the president’s original proposal or the original House or Senate bill,” Fleischer said.

More than half the $330 billion tax cut will go to working individuals, married couples and families. Workers will see more money in their paychecks after July 1 as companies reduce the amount of tax withheld to reflect reduced income tax rates.