You want some brie with that whine?
Courtesy of a forwarded email, this is a summary of the bailout, according to the infamous Maxine:
“Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed.
“Now we are trusting the economy of our country and our banking system to the same nit-wits who couldn’t make money running a whore house and selling whiskey!”
Touché.
Someone I’ve known for a long time fell into the vat of red Kool-Aid very early on in the Obama campaign and swallowed an alarmingly toxic amount. But I have to admit it’s been interesting to be on the second-hand receiving end of the gospel…errrr…the propaganda, and to watch the fervent hope begin to fade into sane realism as the President has goose-stepped through his first month in office.
Today I was forwarded an email that the President sent to all of his supporters. Let’s discuss it, shall we?
“Today, I signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law.”
Translation: Now you can’t say I didn’t do something; kinda even sorta keep a promise. Neener, neener, neener!
“This is an historic step — the first of many as we work together to climb out of this crisis — and I want to thank you for your resolve and your support.”
Hello? Earth to the Orchid Office. According to the pollsters, American support for this monstrosity hovered at maybe 40%, depending on what poll you read.
“You organized thousands of house meetings. You shared your ideas and personal stories. And you informed your friends and neighbors about the need for immediate action. You continue to be a powerful voice for change throughout the country.”
Exactly where is this change? Did all those cabinet nominees finally pay up on their back taxes using pennies? Does it have anything to do with the sewage that continues to backfill the hole you left back in Illinois? Has it stopped reputedly intelligent people from saying really stupid things in public?
“The recovery plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs, provide tax cuts for working and middle-class families, and invest in health care and clean energy.”
Create. Or save. Big difference in them there words, Mr. Ivy Leaguer. Of course, when 500 billion jobs a month are being lost, what’s a little difference in semantics between friends?
“It’s a bold plan to address a huge problem, and it will require my vigilance and yours to make sure it’s done right.”
No, it’s not. It’s a stupid plan to cover the butts of stupid people who took the money and ran. And got away with it.
“I’ve assigned a team of managers to oversee the implementation of the recovery act. We are committed to making sure no dollar is wasted. But accountability begins with you.”
This is parent-speak for ” Do as I say, not as I do.” What with Obama’s cabinet choices, and when sent from the tropical depths of the Orchid Office, I feel really safe knowing that he’s personally assigning the people to watch how the stimulus money is wasted. Errr…spent.
“That’s why my administration has created Recovery.gov a new website where citizens can track every dollar spent and every job created. We’ll invite you and your neighbors to weigh in with comments and questions.”
Recovery.gov? Isn’t that where the pork barrel was supposed to be on display so all Americans could review it alongside their elected officials? The website that said the bill would be posted after President Obama signed it? I’m sure that this was just a glitch, what with the administration being so new and all….
“Our progress will also be measured by the tens of thousands of personal stories submitted by people who are struggling to make ends meet. If you haven’t already, you can read stories from families all across the country:
http://my.barackobama.com/yourstories
Your stories are the heart of this recovery plan, and that’s what I’ll focus on every day as President.”
Well, slap me silly and call me Susan. Isn’t this just the cat’s pajamas? I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to tell President Obama what I’m doing with my extra $13 a week. Of course, it’ll be hard to compete with the stories coming in from Asia, once the President hands over that stimulus money to the U.N.
“With your continued support, we’ll emerge a stronger and more prosperous nation.” What is woefully obvious is that it is not the vast majority of Americans who are having problems, but instead our elected officials and a handful of Wall Street wunderkinds who have put themselves above the both the letter and spirit of the laws of this country. And the inflated ego of President Barrack Obama continues to support them. Mostly because he’s utterly clueless about what’s really going on.
“Thank you,
President Barack Obama”
Oh, no. Thank you, Mr. President. I’m sure that I’m not the only American who doesn’t know how I managed until you came along.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment to go worship the porcelein god.
Occasionally now I have to drive downtown to the Big City for business meetings. This is a new experience for me; I grew up in the affluent, surrounding suburbs and, although my parents had grown up in it, as the decay and corruption and resulting lawlessness began to outpace its growth, even their parents moved away and eventually none of us bothered to venture there except very rarely for perhaps some entertainment purpose.
So while it is not really unfamiliar, I am finding every trip now made in broad daylight to be very disconcerting.
I am struck as much by the crumbling, boarded-up elegance of what was once a city thriving and obviously full of pride as I am by the shabby, hollow-eyed people who still live there. The main thoroughfare, once sporting simple yet elegant apartment buildings and solid, warm, welcoming places of worship, as well as merchants of every stripe, has been replaced by liquor stores, hair and nail salons, and check-cashing businesses; this monotony of an area gripped by poverty occasionally broken by a run-down eating establishment or police precinct. Oh sure, there are the stereotypical sporting and convention arenas, a theater district, and a pretense of big businesses still waving the flag but for all the circumspect pockets of dubious productivity, the air reeks with a heavy, deject sense of despair. It is all very much like Norma Desmond, that famous recluse of Sunset Boulevard fame; wanting desperately to be remembered and perhaps wanting even more to find she is still useful.
Struggling with the economic fallout as much as anyone, it is easier now for me to understand the disparities that have allowed the silver-tongued devil and his fascist minions to continue to hold their snake-charmer sway through the decietful ugliness that has marked their first month in office. Should those who live in the Big City wish to stay there, the truth is that there is very little that is truly meaningful or even really very useful for them to pursue. Unskilled, they live at the mercy of the government handout either through welfare checks or government jobs; unmotivated, they squander that handout on things that only serve to dull the instinctual feelings they are perceived as somehow childlike and unworthy.
It is a false pride and an ignorant pride that scrawls graffiti across the historic buildings and hurls rocks through the windows of the long-vacant factories that once furnished the world with much-needed goods. And it is to this false and ignorant pride that the stimulus bill panders; it is clear to me that there will be no real jobs created in this Big City. As I continue to drive through its downtown I will continue to pause for the lost and aimless who literally wander in its streets. I will watch with an angry grief as the last of the old, grand “ladies” show us more and more of their weather-damaged goods as they crumble from neglect, if they do not first succumb to an arsonist’s match.
My eyes will not look away as I pass through, though those who can somehow still afford wants on top of needs will pay no heed as they go to ball games or plays or gamble in the casinos; as long as they are benefiting in some way from the promises of this false messiah they will turn a blind eye to those who believe but were never intended to share in them.
I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, an advocate of socialism. I fervently believe in the American Dream; that working hard, working honestly and providing impeccible goods or services can allow anyone to live comfortably. Comfort is, of course, rather subjective, but decent food on the table, a solid roof overhead, and pride in a job well done at the end of the day shouldn’t be this hard to come by.
I believe that we, America, can do better – indeed, we must do better than this “let ’em eat pork” stench wafting from the Orchid Office. Americans don’t need more pork, what we need is a market that is free from what is at best misguided manipulation and certainly one free of the slings and arrows of thinly-veiled greed. We need real truth in reporting (here is but one example; seems a little late in coming, doesn’t it?) and from our elected officials (recovery.gov being right up there in the Top Ten but, of course, having failed miserably to date). If we are to buy into the need for any economic stimulus, it should not be in order to further swell the coffers of the United Nations with American dollars and thereby push the agendas of those who not-so-secretly wish to destroy us. Nor should it be used to pad the wallets of illegal immigrants (what part of “illegal” is so hard to understand once someone gets to Washington, anyway?)
I can’t help but be reminded that it is Lady Justice who is blindfolded. Not Lady Liberty.
And I don’t think either of them kept their svelte figure by consuming a steady diet of pork.
Why this isn’t headline news is utterly beyond me, but with the exception of a Foxnews.com video, the U.S. mainstream media really needs to get its collective head out of its ass and start reporting it. And reporting it loudly.
The UK’s TimesOnline reported on Friday, February 13, 2009 that the United Nations and the World Bank are now “lobbying” for a portion of the United States “stimulus” monies.
Pardon my French, but – what the fuck?
“Asian economies are suffering as demand for exports collapses.”
No shit, Sherlock. Average Americans John & Jane Doe can’t afford to buy anything, even if they still have a job. Yet the American taxpayer, already reeling like Weebles over-stuffed with rotting pork rinds courtesy of the so-called “stimulus bill”, are being asked to hand over $5 BILLION of it to help bail out other countries who find themselves in similar economic mess? We’ve “best-shored” American jobs overseas to the point it no longer necessarily makes economic sense yet the U.N., under the guise of those insidious “Millenium Development Goals” is asking the American taxpayer for more money? They couldn’t even manage the donations made to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, “losing” something like 20% of the money, and even now continue to waffle back and forth with admissions and retractions of guilt about it.
To this and any other such begging, I say, “Not no, but hell no.” That cluster currently passing for legislation is called the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”, not the “Asian Recovery Act” or the “United Nations Support Act”. Giving a penny of it to an outfit like the U.N. that can’t find its own ass with both hands is just flat-out wrong. Every citizen of this country should be up in arms and shouting their refusal of the request from every rooftop.
But, of course, if the mainstream media isn’t making an issue out of it, how will anyone even know?
Anyone remember the Obama “campaign logo”? The oh-so-egotistical one that shamelessly plagiarized the United States Presidential seal? On it were the words, “Vero Possumus”, which some say roughly translates to “Yes, we can”. I say it roughly translates to “Roll over and play dead”.
And it has occurred to me that this whole Obama thing is really like having sex. Really bad sex. The kind of sex that you shove away in the back of your mind once the light of day begins to shine because, although it seemed like a good idea at the time, once you sober up you realize you just feel used and dirty.
Think about it. Here comes a good-looking member of the opposite sex. They have that certain “je ne sais pas que” about them; an air of confidence yet approachability. Something inside of you reacts and you get that tingley little feeling. When they pay attention to you, if you’re single you pull out your best flirts and cross your fingers they’ll want to get “close” to you. If you’re not single, you may keep the chitchat casual but inside you’re glowing with the knowledge that someone still finds you attractive.
Eventually, throughout the course of repeated meetings, always at their invitation, their eloquence reels you in and single or not single, you end up in bed with them. They whisper sweet nothings in your ear and for those fleeting moments the world is filled with excitement, filled with passion, and – dare I say? – filled with hope.
But like all good chemical reactions, eventually the hours pass, the raging “meet-mate-and-procreate” hormones level back out and the alcohol or other drugs of choice in your system dissipate. As the smoke lingers in that cheap hotel room, you pull your wrinkled clothes back on, assiduously avoiding the mirror hanging crookedly over the chipped dresser. You step out into the morning light. As you slowly make your way back home, those wooing promises of what the future holds roll around your exhausted brain like so many little marbles looking for so many little holes.
Deep down, though you’ll never admit it to anyone because you can barely admit it to yourself, you know those smokey, whispered promises were only predatory. And you could kick yourself for falling for them.
And you wonder if there’s been any lingering “collateral damage” like an unwanted pregnancy or venereal disease.
I guess it’s like Forrest Gump’s mama used to say, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
Spread ’em and weep.
There’s a new transparency in town, don’tcha know? The new administration aims to punch holes into the brick walls that have historically surrounded govermental activities ; I decided to peek into one of the windows.
“Check back after passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to see how and where your tax dollars are spent.
An oversight board will routinely update this site as part of an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government.”
Doesn’t that make you feel all tingley inside? After the pork hits the deep fryer, we can watch the fat melt. Which is a fancy way of saying they’re giving us the privilege of watching the lies bought by the majority become the new reality.
I’ve been watching the “stimulus bill” and, now that it’s a done deal, took another look at the final dirty laundry list. This one came from the ProPublica website.
|
Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General |
$22,500,000 |
|
Department of Commerce – Office of Inspector General |
$10,000,000 |
|
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Office of Inspector General |
$6,000,000 |
|
Department of Justice – Office of Inspector General |
$2,000,000 |
|
NASA – Office of Inspector General |
$2,000,000 |
|
Defense Department – Office of Inspector General |
$15,000,000 |
|
Department of Energy – Office of Inspector General |
$15,000,000 |
|
Department of the Treasury – Inspector General for Tax Administration |
$7,000,000 |
|
General Services Administration – Office of Inspector General |
$7,000,000 |
|
Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board |
$84,000,000 |
|
Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General |
$10,000,000 |
|
Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General |
$5,000,000 |
|
Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Inspector General |
$15,000,000 |
|
Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Inspector General |
$20,000,000 |
|
Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General |
$6,000,000 |
|
Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General related to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology |
$17,000,000 |
|
Department of Education – Office of Inspector General |
$14,000,000 |
|
Corporation for National and Community Service – Office of Inspector General |
$1,000,000 |
|
Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General |
$2,000,000 |
|
Government Accountability Office salaries and expenses |
$25,000,000 |
|
Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General |
$1,000,000 |
|
State Department – Office of Inspector General |
$2,000,000 |
|
Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General |
$20,000,000 |
|
Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General |
$15,000,000 |
|
Rural Housing Service insurance fund program account – direct loans and unsubsidized guaranteed loans |
$11,672,000,000 |
|
Rural community facilities program account |
$130,000,000 |
|
Special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC) |
$500,000,000 |
|
School lunch programs for schools in which at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced price meals |
$100,000,000 |
|
Food bank commodity assistance program |
$150,000,000 |
|
Temporary increase in benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) |
$19,900,000,000 |
|
Food distribution program on Indian reservations |
$5,000,000 |
|
Agricultural disaster assistance transition – Federal Crop Insurance Act |
|
|
Farm operating loans |
$173,367,000 |
|
Direct farm operating loans |
$20,440,000 |
|
IRS health insurance tax credit administration |
$80,000,000 |
|
Emergency food and shelter |
$100,000,000 |
|
Bureau of Indian Affairs job training and housing improvement programs |
$40,000,000 |
|
Indian guaranteed loan program |
$10,000,000 |
|
Community service employment for older Americans |
$120,000,000 |
|
Extra funding for state unemployment insurance |
$150,000,000 |
|
State re-employment services for the jobless |
$250,000,000 |
|
Child care assistance for low-income families |
$1,651,227,000 |
|
Child care assistance for low-income families through state programs |
$255,186,000 |
|
Child care assistance for low-income families to improve infant and toddler care |
$93,587,000 |
|
Community Service Block Grant Program |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Social Security Act funding |
50,000,000 |
|
Social Security Administration processing of disability and retirement workloads |
$460,000,000 |
|
State administrative expenses to carry out increase in food stamp program |
$295,000,000 |
|
Economic development assistance programs |
$150,000,000 |
|
Violence against women prevention and prosecution programs |
$225,000,000 |
|
Office of Justice Programs state and local law enforcement assistance (Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants) |
$2,000,000,000 |
|
State and local law enforcement assistance grants to improve criminal justice systems, assist crime victims and mentor youth |
$225,000,000 |
|
Southern border and high-intensity drug trafficking areas |
$30,000,000 |
|
ATF Project Gunrunner |
$10,000,000 |
|
State and local law enforcement assistance to Indian tribes |
$225,000,000 |
|
Crime victim assistance |
$100,000,000 |
|
Rural drug crime program |
$125,000,000 |
|
Internet crimes against children initiatives |
$50,000,000 |
|
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Justice Department salaries and expenses for administration of police grant programs |
$10,000,000 |
|
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund for financial assistance, training and outreach to Native American, Hawaiian and Alaskan native communities |
$100,000,000 |
|
Local and state fire station upgrades and construction |
$210,000,000 |
|
Disaster assistance direct loans may exceed $5,000,000 and may be equal to not more than 50% of local government annual budget if the government lost 25% or more in tax revenues |
|
|
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to avoid cutbacks and layoffs (82% must be used for education while 18% may be used for public safety and other government services. The latter part may be used for repairs and modernization of K-12 schools and college and university buildings.) |
$53,600,000,000 |
|
Rural Business – Cooperative Service: rural business program account |
$150,000,000 |
|
Small Business Administration salaries and expenses, microloan program and improvements to technology systems |
$69,000,000 |
|
Surety bond guarantees revolving fund |
$15,000,000 |
|
Small business loans |
$636,000,000 |
|
State grants for adult job training |
$500,000,000 |
|
State grants for youth job training and summer employment opportunities |
$1,200,000,000 |
|
Dislocated worker job training |
$1,250,000,000 |
|
YouthBuild program for high school dropouts who re-enroll in other schools |
$50,000,000 |
|
Job training in emerging industries |
$250,000,000 |
|
Job training in the renewable energy field |
$500,000,000 |
|
Head Start programs |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Early Head Start program expansion |
$1,100,000,000 |
|
Education for the disadvantaged – elementary and secondary education |
10,000,000,000 |
|
Education for the disadvantaged – school improvement grants |
$3,000,000,000 |
|
Education impact aid |
$100,000,000 |
|
School improvement programs |
$650,000,000 |
|
Innovation and improvement of elementary and secondary schools |
$200,000,000 |
|
Special education funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act |
$12,200,000,000 |
|
Pell grants for higher education |
$15,840,000,000 |
|
Institute of Education data systems |
$245,000,000 |
|
Institute of Education state data coordinators |
$5,000,000 |
|
Dislocated worker assistance national reserve |
$200,000,000 |
|
School improvement grants awarded based on the number of homeless students identified in a state |
$70,000,000 |
|
Student aid administrative costs |
$60,000,000 |
|
Energy efficiency and conservation block grants |
$3,200,000,000 |
|
Weatherization Assistance Program (increases maximum income level and maximum assistance) |
$5,000,000,000 |
|
State energy program |
$3,100,000,000 |
|
Advanced batteries manufacturing, including lithium ion batteries, hybrid electrical systems, component manufacturers and software designers |
$2,000,000,000 |
|
Modernize electricity grid |
$4,400,000,000 |
|
Electricity grid worker training |
$100,000,000 |
|
Fossil energy research and development |
$3,400,000,000 |
|
Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund |
$390,000,000 |
|
Department of Energy science programs |
$1,600,000,000 |
|
Advanced Research Projects Agency |
$400,000,000 |
|
Innovative technology loan guarantee program |
$6,000,000,000 |
|
Western Area Power Administration construction and maintenance |
$10,000,000 |
|
Bonneville Power Administration borrowing authority |
$3,250,000,000 |
|
Western Area Power Administration borrowing authority |
$3,250,000,000 |
|
Leading edge biofuel projects |
$500,000,000 |
|
Federal building conversion to “high-performance green buildings” |
$4,500,000,000 |
|
Energy efficiency federal vehicle fleet procurement |
$300,000,000 |
|
Indian Health Service information technology and telehealth services |
$85,000,000 |
|
Indian health facilities |
$415,000,000 |
|
Grants for public health centers |
$500,000,000 |
|
Construction, renovation, equipment and information technology for health centers |
$1,500,000,000 |
|
National Health Service Corps funding |
$75,000,000 |
|
Addressing health professions workforce shortage |
$425,000,000 |
|
National Institutes of Health grants and contracts to renovate non-federal research facilities |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
National Institute of Health grants and contracts for shared resources and equipment for grantees |
$300,000,000 |
|
National Institutes of Health fund to support scientific research |
$7,400,000,000 |
|
National Institutes of Health Common Fund |
$800,000,000 |
|
National Institutes of Health renovations of high-priority buildings at the Bethesda, Md., campus, and at other locations |
$500,000,000 |
|
Comparative effectiveness research |
$300,000,000 |
|
Comparative effectiveness research by the National Institutes of Health |
400,000,000 |
|
Comparative effectiveness research by the Department of Health and Human Services |
$400,000,000 |
|
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology |
$1,680,000,000 |
|
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s regional or subnational efforts |
$300,000,000 |
|
Department of Commerce health care information enterprise integration activities related to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology |
$20,000,000 |
|
Department of Health and Human Services computer and information technology security |
$50,000,000 |
|
Department of Health and Human Services Prevention and Wellness Fund |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Prevention and Wellness Fund immunization program |
$300,000,000 |
|
Prevention and Wellness Fund evidence-based clinical and community-based prevention strategies |
$650,000,000 |
|
Prevention and Wellness Fund reduction in incidence of health-care-associated infections |
$50,000,000 |
|
Rehabilitation services and disability research |
540,000,000 |
|
State grants for rehabilitation services and disability research |
$18,200,000 |
|
Rehabilitation services in independent living centers |
$87,500,000 |
|
Rehabilitation services for older blind individuals |
$34,300,000 |
|
Census Bureau programs |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Digital-to-analog television converter box program |
$650,000,000 |
|
President shall establish arbitration panel under FEMA public assistance program to expedite recovery efforts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita |
|
|
Requirement that Department of Homeland Security uniforms be manufactured and sewn together by U.S. fabric and apparel companies |
|
|
National Endowment for the Arts grants |
$50,000,000 |
|
Department of Labor salaries and expenses |
$80,000,000 |
|
Additional awards to existing AmeriCorps grantees |
$83,000,000 |
|
AmeriCorps program salaries and expenses |
$5,200,000 |
|
AmeriCorps program administrative costs of expansion |
$800,000 |
|
National security trust appropriation |
$40,000,000 |
|
Social Security Administration health information technology research |
$40,000,000 |
|
Filipino World War II veterans compensation |
$198,000,000 |
|
Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses to maintain and modernize the information technology system |
$50,000,000 |
|
Distance learning, telemedicine and broadband program |
$2,500,000,000 |
|
National Telecommunications and Information Administration – broadband technology opportunities program |
$4,690,000,000 |
|
National Institute of Standards and Technology scientific and technical research and services |
$220,000,000 |
|
National Institute of Standards and Technology construction of research facilities |
$360,000,000 |
|
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operations, research and facilities |
$230,000,000 |
|
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration procurement, acquisition and construction |
$600,000,000 |
|
NASA science |
$400,000,000 |
|
NASA aeronautics |
$150,000,000 |
|
NASA exploration |
$400,000,000 |
|
NASA cross agency support |
$50,000,000 |
|
National Science Foundation research and related activities |
$2,500,000,000 |
|
National Science Foundation education and human resources |
$100,000,000 |
|
National Science Foundation major research equipment and facilities construction |
$400,000,000 |
|
National Science Foundation – Office of Inspector General |
$2,000,000 |
|
Veterans Affairs for hiring and training of claims processors |
$150,000,000 |
|
Veterans Affairs information technology systems |
$50,000,000 |
|
State Department technology security upgrades |
$252,000,000 |
|
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) technology |
$38,000,000 |
|
Agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments |
$24,000,000 |
|
Agricultural Research Service buildings and facilities |
$176,000,000 |
|
Natural Resources Conservation Service watershed and flood prevention programs |
$290,000,000 |
|
Watershed rehabilitation program |
$50,000,000 |
|
Rural Utilities Service water and waste disposal program account |
$1,380,000,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army |
$1,474,525,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Navy |
$657,051,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Marine Corps |
$113,865,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air Force |
$1,095,959,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army Reserve |
$98,269,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Navy |
$55,083,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Marine Corps Reserve |
$39,909,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air Force Reserve |
$13,187,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Army National Guard |
$266,304,000 |
|
Defense Department facilities operation and maintenance, Air National Guard |
$25,848,000 |
|
Army research development, test and evaluation |
$75,000,000 |
|
Navy research development, test and evaluation |
$75,000,000 |
|
Air Force research development, test and evaluation |
$75,000,000 |
|
Defense-wide research development, test and evaluation |
$75,000,000 |
|
Defense Department medical facilities repair and modernization including energy efficiency |
$400,000,000 |
|
Corps of Engineers investigations |
$25,000,000 |
|
Corps of Engineers construction |
$2,000,000,000 |
|
Corps of Engineers – Mississippi River and tributaries |
$375,000,000 |
|
Corps of Engineers operations and maintenance |
$2,075,000,000 |
|
Corps of Engineers regulatory program |
$25,000,000 |
|
Corps of Engineers formerly utilized sites remedial action program |
$100,000,000 |
|
Bureau of Reclamation water and related resources, including inspection of canals in urbanized areas |
$900,000,000 |
|
Central Utah Project water programs |
$50,000,000 |
|
California Bay-Delta restoration |
$50,000,000 |
|
Non-Defense environmental cleanup |
$483,000,000 |
|
Defense environmental cleanup |
$5,127,000,000 |
|
Federal buildings and courthouses |
$750,000,000 |
|
Border stations and land ports of entry |
$300,000,000 |
|
Department of Homeland Security headquarters consolidation |
$200,000,000 |
|
Customs and Border Protection non-intrusive inspection systems |
$100,000,000 |
|
Customs and Border Protection tactical communications equipment and radios |
$60,000,000 |
|
Border security fencing, infrastructure and technology |
$100,000,000 |
|
Land border ports of entry construction |
$420,000,000 |
|
Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactical communications equipment and radios |
$20,000,000 |
|
Transportation Security Administration checked baggage and checkpoint explosives detection machines |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Coast Guard shore facilities and aids to navigation facilities |
$98,000,000 |
|
Coast Guard alteration of bridges |
$142,000,000 |
|
FEMA public transportation and railroad security |
$150,000,000 |
|
FEMA port security grants |
$150,000,000 |
|
Bureau of Land Management maintenance and restoration of facilities, trails, lands, abandoned mines and wells |
$125,000,000 |
|
Bureau of Land Management construction of roads, bridges, trails and facilities, including energy efficient retrofits |
$180,000,000 |
|
Wildland fire management and hazardous fuels reduction |
$15,000,000 |
|
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintenance and construction on wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries and for habitat restoration |
$165,000,000 |
|
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service roads, bridges and facilities, including energy efficient retrofits |
$115,000,000 |
|
National Park Service facilities and trails |
$146,000,000 |
|
Historically black colleges and universities preservation |
$15,000,000 |
|
National Park Service road construction, cleanup of abandoned mines on parkland and other infrastructure |
$589,000,000 |
|
U.S. Geological Survey facilities and equipment, including stream gages, seismic and volcano monitoring systems and national map activities |
$140,000,000 |
|
Bureau of Indian Affairs construction of roads, schools and detention centers |
$450,000,000 |
|
Superfund site cleanup |
$600,000,000 |
|
Leaking underground storage tank cleanup |
$200,000,000 |
|
Clean water state revolving fund grants |
$4,000,000,000 |
|
Safe drinking water capitalization grants |
$2,000,000,000 |
|
Brownfields projects |
$100,000,000 |
|
Diesel emission reduction grants and loans |
$300,000,000 |
|
Forest Service road, bridge and trail maintenance; watershed restoration; facilities improvement; remediation of abandoned mines; and support costs |
$650,000,000 |
|
Wildfire mitigation |
$500,000,000 |
|
Smithsonian Institution repairs |
$25,000,000 |
|
Construction, renovation and acquisition of Job Corps Centers |
$250,000,000 |
|
Social Security Administration’s National Computer Center replacement |
$500,000,000 |
|
Military construction, Army – child development centers and warrior transition complexes |
$180,000,000 |
|
Military construction, Navy and Marine Corps – child development centers and warrior transition complexes |
$280,000,000 |
|
Military construction, Air Force – child development centers and warrior transition complexes |
$180,000,000 |
|
Military hospital construction and energy conservation investments |
$1,450,000,000 |
|
Military construction, Army National Guard |
$50,000,000 |
|
Military construction, Air National Guard |
$50,000,000 |
|
Family housing construction, Army |
$34,507,000 |
|
Family housing operation and maintenance, Army |
$3,932,000 |
|
Family housing construction, Air Force |
$80,100,000 |
|
Family housing operation and maintenance, Air Force |
$16,461,000 |
|
Temporary expansion of military homeowner assistance program to respond to mortgage foreclosure and credit crisis, including acquisition of property at or near military bases that have been ordered closed. |
$555,000,000 |
|
Veterans Affairs hospital maintenance |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
National Cemetery Administration for monument and memorial repairs |
$50,000,000 |
|
State extended care facilities, such as nursing homes |
$150,000,000 |
|
State Department diplomatic and consular programs for domestic passport and training facilities |
$90,000,000 |
|
International Boundary and Water Commission – Rio Grande levee repairs |
$220,000,000 |
|
Additional capital investments in surface transportation including highways, bridges, and road repairs |
$1,298,500,000 |
|
Administrative costs for additional capital investments in surface transportation |
$200,000,000 |
|
Capital investments in surface transportation grants to be awarded by other administration |
$1,500,000 |
|
Federal Aviation Administration infrastructure |
$200,000,000 |
|
Grants-in-aid for airports |
$1,100,000,000 |
|
Highway infrastructure investment |
$26,725,000,000 |
|
Highway infrastructure investment in Puerto Rico |
$105,000,000 |
|
Highway infrastructure funds distributed by states |
$60,000,000 |
|
Highway infrastructure funds for the Indian Reservation Roads program |
$550,000,000 |
|
Highway infrastructure funds for surface transportation technology training |
$20,000,000 |
|
Highway infrastructure to fund oversight and management of projects |
$40,000,000 |
|
High speed rail capital assistance |
$8,000,000,000 |
|
National Railroad passenger corporation capital grants |
$850,000,000 |
|
National Railroad passenger corporation capital grants for security |
$450,000,000 |
|
Federal Transit Administration capital assistance |
$6,800,000,000 |
|
Public transportation discretionary grants |
$100,000,000 |
|
Fixed guideway infrastructure investment |
$750,000,000 |
|
Capital investment grants |
$750,000,000 |
|
Shipyard grants |
$100,000,000 |
|
Public housing capital improvements |
$3,000,000,000 |
|
Public housing renovations and energy conservation investments |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Native American housing block grants |
$510,000,000 |
|
Community development funding |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
Emergency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes |
$2,000,000,000 |
|
Additional capital investments in low-income housing tax credit projects |
$2,250,000,000 |
|
Homelessness prevention and re-housing |
$1,500,000,000 |
|
Assistance to owners of properties receiving section 8 assistance |
$2,000,000,000 |
|
Grants and loans for green investment in section 8 properties |
$250,000,000 |
|
Lead hazard reduction |
$100,000,000 |
|
TOTAL SPEND |
$318,723,307,000 |
|
|
|
|
“Making Work Pay” Tax Credit. For 2009 and 2010, the bill would provide a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and $800 for working families. This tax credit would be calculated at a rate of 6.2% of earned income, and would phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples filing jointly). Taxpayers can receive this benefit through a reduction in the amount of income tax that is withheld from their paychecks, or through claiming the credit on their tax returns. |
$116,199,000,000 |
|
Economic Recovery Payment to Recipients of Social Security, SSI, Railroad Retirement and Veterans Disability Compensation Benefits. The bill would provide a one-time payment of $250 to retirees, disabled individuals and SSI recipients receiving benefits from the Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement beneficiaries, and disabled veterans receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The one-time payment is a reduction to the Making Work Pay credit. |
$14,225,000,000 |
|
Refundable Credit for Certain Federal and State Pensioners. The bill would provide a one-time refundable tax credit of $250 in 2009 to certain government retirees who are not eligible for Social Security benefits. This one-time credit is a reduction to the Making Work Pay credit. |
$218,000,000 |
|
Increase in Earned Income Tax Credit. The bill would temporarily increase the earned income tax credit for working families with three or more children. Under current law, working families with two or more children qualify for an earned income tax credit equal to 40% of the family’s first $12,570 of earned income. This credit is subject to a phase-out for working families with adjusted gross income in excess of $16,420 ($19,540 for married couples filing jointly). The bill would increase the earned income tax credit to 45% of the family’s first $12,570 of earned income for families with three or more children and would increase the beginning point of the phase-out range for all married couples filing a joint return (regardless of the number of children) by $1,880. |
$4,663,000,000 |
|
Increase Eligibility for the Refundable Portion of Child Credit. The bill would increase the eligibility for the refundable child tax credit in 2009 and 2010. For 2008, the child tax credit is refundable to the extent of 15% of the taxpayer’s earned income in excess of $8,500. The bill would reduce this floor for 2009 and 2010 to $3,000. |
$14,830,000,000 |
|
“American Opportunity” Education Tax Credit. The bill would provide financial assistance for individuals seeking a college education. For 2009 and 2010, the bill would provide taxpayers with a new tax credit of up to $2,500 of the cost of tuition and related expenses paid during the taxable year. Taxpayers will receive a credit based on 100% of the first $2,000 of tuition and related expenses (including books) paid during the year and 25% of the next $2,000 of tuition and expenses paid during the year. Forty percent of the credit would be refundable. This tax credit will be subject to a phase-out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for married couples filing jointly). |
$13,907,000,000 |
|
Computers as Qualified Education Expenses in 529 Education Plans. Section 529 Education Plans are tax-advantaged savings plans that cover all qualified education expenses, including: tuition, room & board, mandatory fees and books. The bill counts computers and computer technology as qualified education expenses. |
$6,000,000 |
|
Refundable First-time Home Buyer Credit. Last year, Congress provided taxpayers with a refundable tax credit that was equivalent to an interest-free loan equal to 10% of the purchase of a home (up to $7,500) by first-time home buyers. The provision applies to homes purchased on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009. Taxpayers receiving this tax credit are currently required to repay any amount received under this provision back to the government over 15 years in equal installments, or, if earlier, when the home is sold. The credit phases out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $75,000 ($150,000 in the case of a joint return). The bill eliminates the repayment obligation for taxpayers that purchase homes after Jan. 1, 2009, increases the maximum value of the credit to $8,000 and removes the prohibition on financing by mortgage revenue bonds and extends the availability of the credit for homes purchased before Dec. 1, 2009. The provision would retain the credit recapture if the house is sold within three years of purchase. |
$6,638,000,000 |
|
Sales Tax Deduction for Vehicle Purchases. The bill provides all taxpayers with a deduction for state and local sales and excise taxes on the purchase of new cars, light truck, recreational vehicles, and motorcycles through 2009. This deduction is subject to a phase-out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $125,000 ($250,000 in the case of a joint return). |
$1,684,000,000 |
|
Temporary Suspension of Taxation of Unemployment Benefits. Under current law, all federal unemployment benefits are subject to taxation. The average unemployment benefit is about $300 per month. The proposal temporarily suspends federal income tax on the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits per recipient. Any unemployment benefits over $2,400 will be subject to federal income tax. This proposal is in effect for 2009. |
$4,740,000,000 |
|
Extension of Alternative Minimum Tax Relief for 2009. The bill would provide more than 26 million families with tax relief in 2009 by extending AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increasing the AMT exemption amount to $70,950 for joint filers and $46,700 for individuals. |
$69,759,000,000 |
|
Extension of Bonus Depreciation. Businesses are allowed to recover the cost of capital expenditures over time according to a depreciation schedule. Last year, Congress temporarily allowed businesses to recover the costs of capital expenditures made in 2008 faster than the ordinary depreciation schedule would allow by permitting these businesses to immediately write-off 50% of the cost of depreciable property (e.g., equipment, tractors, wind turbines, solar panels and computers) acquired in 2008 for use in the United States. The bill would extend this temporary benefit for capital expenditures incurred in 2009. |
$5,074,000,000 |
|
Election to Accelerate Recognition of Historic AMT/R&D Credits. Last year, Congress temporarily allowed businesses to accelerate the recognition of a portion of their historic alternative minimum tax or research and development credits in lieu of bonus depreciation. The amount that taxpayers may accelerate is calculated based on the amount that each taxpayer invests in property that would otherwise qualify for bonus depreciation. This amount is capped at 6% of historic AMT and R&D credits or $30 million, whichever is less. The bill would extend this temporary benefit through 2009. |
$805,000,000 |
|
Extension of Enhanced Small Business Expensing. To help small businesses quickly recover the cost of certain capital expenses, small business taxpayers may elect to write-off the cost of these expenses in the year of acquisition in lieu of recovering these costs over time through depreciation. Until the end of 2010, small business taxpayers are allowed to write-off up to $125,000 (indexed for inflation) of capital expenditures subject to a phase-out once capital expenditures exceed $500,000 (indexed for inflation). Last year, Congress temporarily increased the amount that small businesses could write-off for capital expenditures incurred in 2008 to $250,000 and increased the phase-out threshold for 2008 to $800,000. The bill would extend these temporary increases for capital expenditures incurred in 2009. |
$41,000,000 |
|
5-Year Carryback of Net Operating Losses for Small Businesses. Under current law, net operating losses (“NOLs”) may be carried back to the two taxable years before the year that the loss arises (the “NOL carryback period”) and carried forward to each of the succeeding 20 years after the year that the loss arises. For 2008, the bill would extend the maximum NOL carryback period from two years to five years for small businesses with gross receipts of $15 million or less. |
$947,000,000 |
|
Delayed Recognition of Certain Cancellation of Debt Income. Under current law, a taxpayer generally has income where the taxpayer cancels or repurchases its debt for an amount less than its adjusted issue price. The amount of cancellation of debt income (“CODI”) is the excess of the old debt’s adjusted issue price over the repurchase price. Certain businesses will be allowed to recognize CODI over 10 years (defer tax on CODI for the first four or five years and recognize this income ratably over the following five years) for specified types of business debt repurchased by the business after Dec. 31, 2008 and before Jan. 1, 2011. |
$1,622,000,000 |
|
Incentives to Hire Unemployed Veterans and Disconnected Youth. Under current law, businesses are allowed to claim a work opportunity tax credit equal to 40% of the first $6,000 of wages paid to employees of one of nine targeted groups. The bill would create two new targeted groups of prospective employees: unemployed veterans and disconnected youth. An individual would qualify as an unemployed veteran if they were discharged or released from active duty from the Armed Forces during the five-year period prior to hiring and received unemployment compensation for more than four weeks during the year before being hired. An individual qualifies as a disconnected youth if they are between the ages of 16 and 25 and have not been regularly employed or attended school in the past 6 months. |
$231,000,000 |
|
Small Business Capital Gains. Current law provides a 50% exclusion for the gain from the sale of certain small business stock held for more than five years. The amount of gain eligible for the exclusion is limited to 10 times the taxpayer’s basis in the stock or $10 million gain from stock in that small business corporation, whichever is greater. This provision is limited to individual investments and not the investments of a corporation. The non-excluded portion is taxed at ordinary income rates or 28%, whichever is less, instead of the lower capital gains rates for individuals. The provision allows a 75% exclusion for individuals on the gain from the sale of certain small business stock held for more than five years. This change is for stock issued after the date of enactment and before Jan. 1, 2011. |
$829,000,000 |
|
Temporary Small Business Estimated Tax Payment Relief. The bill reduces the 2009 required estimated tax payments for certain small businesses. |
$0 |
|
Temporary Reduction of S Corporation Built-In Gains Holding Period from 10 Years to 7 Years. Under current law, if a taxable corporation converts into an S corporation, the conversion is not a taxable event. However, following such a conversion, an S corporation must hold its assets for 10 years to avoid a tax on any built-in gains that existed at the time of the conversion. The bill would temporarily reduce this holding period from 10 years to seven years for sales occurring in 2009 and 2010. |
$415,000,000 |
|
Repeal of Treasury Section 382 Notice. Last year, the Treasury issued Notice 2008-83, which liberalized rules in the tax code that are intended to prevent taxpayers that acquire companies from claiming losses that were incurred by the acquired company prior to the taxpayer’s ownership of the company. The bill would repeal this notice prospectively. |
($6,977,000,000) |
|
Treatment of Certain Ownership Changes. The bill would clarify the application of section 382 to certain companies restructuring pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. |
$3,163,000,000 |
|
Industrial Development Bonds (IDB). Under current law, certain manufacturing facilities are eligible for tax exempt bond financing. The definition of a manufacturing facility is limited for the purposes of such financing to facilities that are used in the manufacturing or production of tangible personal property. The proposal amends the definition of manufacturing facility to any facility used in the manufacturing, creation or production of tangible or intangible property. Intangible property is any patent, copyright, formula, process, design, pattern, knowhow, format or other similar item. The proposal also clarifies which physical components of a manufacturing facility qualify as ancillary and therefore are subjected to a 25% limitation in the amount of bond issuance used to build or re-construct those components. |
$203,000,000 |
|
Expands assistance programs for service sector workers affected by outsourcing to all countries, including China and India; increases training funds to states by 160% to $575 million per year; and reauthorized all trade assistance programs, which expired in 2007, through Dec. 31, 2010 |
$1,600,000,000 |
|
Prohibits Customs and Border Protection from demanding that lumber, steel and other companies repay duties that CBP collected on Canadian and Mexican imports and then gave to the companies between 2001 and 2005 |
$90,000,000 |
|
Advanced Energy Investment Credit. The proposal establishes a new 30% investment tax credit for facilities engaged in the manufacture of advanced energy property. Credits are available only for projects certified by the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the Energy secretary, through competitive bidding. The Treasury must establish a certification program no later than 180 days after date of enactment and may allocate up to $2.3 billion in credits. Advanced energy property includes technology for the production of renewable energy, energy storage, energy conservation, efficient transmission and distribution of electricity and carbon capture and sequestration. |
$1,647,000,000 |
|
New Markets Tax Credit. Under current law, there are $3.5 billion of new markets tax credits (NMTC) available for each of 2008 and 2009. The provision increases the available credits for 2008 to $5 billion and the available credits for 2009 to $5 billion. |
$815,000,000 |
|
Recovery Zone Bonds. The bill would create a new category of tax credit bonds for investment in economic recovery zones. The bill would authorize $10 billion in recovery zone economic development bonds and $15 billion in recovery zone facility bonds. These bonds could be issued during 2009 and 2010. Each state would receive a share of the national allocation based on that state’s job losses in 2008 as a percentage of national job losses in 2008 (each state will receive a minimum allocation of these bonds). These allocations would be sub-allocated to local municipalities. Municipalities receiving an allocation of these bonds would be permitted to use these bonds to invest in infrastructure, job training, education and economic development in areas within the boundaries of the state, city or county (as the case may be) that has significant poverty, unemployment or home foreclosures. |
$5,371,000,000 |
|
Treasury Department Low-Income Housing Grants in Lieu of Tax Credits. Under current law, taxpayers are allowed to claim a low-income housing tax credit for certain investments made in low-income housing. These tax credits help attract private capital to invest in the construction, acquisition or rehabilitation of qualified low-income housing buildings. Current economic conditions have severely undermined the effectiveness of these tax credits. As a result, the bill would allow taxpayers to receive a grant from the Treasury in lieu of tax credits. Under this provision, state housing agencies would receive a grant equal to up to 85% of 40% of the state’s low-income housing tax credit allocation in lieu of the low-income housing tax credits they would have received. The sub-awards are subject to the same requirements (including rent, income and use restrictions on such buildings) as the low-income housing tax credit allocations. The grant program would apply to each state’s 2009 low-income housing tax credit allocation. |
$69,000,000 |
|
Tribal Economic Development Bonds. Under current law, tribal governments are limited in their ability to issue tax-exempt bonds. Projects funded by bonds issued by tribal governments must satisfy an “essential governmental function” requirement. This requirement is not imposed on projects funded by bonds issued by state and local governments and can limit the ability of tribal governments to use tax-exempt bonds for economic development. The bill would temporarily allow tribal governments to issue $2 billion in tax-exempt bonds for projects without this restriction in order to spur economic development on tribal lands. It would also require the Treasury secretary study whether this restriction should be repealed on a permanent basis. |
$315,000,000 |
|
Modify Speed Requirement for High-Speed Rail Exempt Facility Bonds. Under current law, states are allowed to issue private activity bonds for high-speed rail facilities. Under current law, a high-speed rail facility is a facility for the transportation of passengers between metropolitan areas using vehicles that are reasonably expected to operate at speeds in excess of 150 miles per hour between scheduled stops. The bill would allow these bonds to be used to develop rail facilities that are used by such trains. |
$288,000,000 |
|
De Minimis Safe Harbor Exception for Tax-Exempt Interest Expense for Financial Institutions. Under current law, financial institutions are not allowed to take a deduction for the portion of their interest expense that is allocable to such institution’s investments in tax-exempt municipal bonds. In determining the portion of interest expense that is allocable to investments in tax-exempt municipal bonds, the bill would exclude investments in tax-exempt municipal bonds issued during 2009 and 2010 to the extent that these investments constitute less than 2% of the average adjusted bases of all the assets of the financial institution. (*The cost is included in the next provision, Modification of Small Issuer Exception….) |
$0 |
|
$3,234,000,000 |
|
|
Eliminate Costs Imposed on State and Local Governments by the Alternative Minimum Tax. The alternative minimum tax (AMT) can increase the costs of issuing tax-exempt private activity bonds imposed on state and local governments. Under current law, interest on tax-exempt private activity bonds is generally subject to the AMT. This limits the marketability of these bonds and, therefore, forces state and local governments to issue these bonds at higher interest rates. Last year, Congress excluded one category of private activity bonds (i.e., tax-exempt housing bonds) from the AMT. The bill would exclude the remaining categories of private activity bonds from the AMT if the bond is issued in 2009 or 2010. The bill also allows AMT relief for current refunding of private activity bonds issued after 2003 and refunded during 2009 and 2010. |
$555,000,000 |
|
Delay Application of Withholding Requirement on Certain Governmental Payments for Goods and Services. For payments made after Dec. 31, 2010, the code requires withholding at a 3% rate on certain payments to persons providing property or services made by federal, state and local governments. The withholding is required regardless of whether the government entity making the payment is the recipient of the property or services (those with less than $100 million in annual expenditures for property or services are exempt). Numerous government entities and small businesses have raised concerns about the application of this provision. The provision would delay for one year (through Dec. 31, 2011) the application of the withholding requirement on government payments for goods and services in order to provide time for the Treasury to study the impact of this provision on government entities and other taxpayers. |
$291,000,000 |
|
Qualified School Construction Bonds. The bill creates a new category of tax credit bonds for the construction, rehabilitation or repair of public school facilities or for the acquisition of land on which a public school facility will be constructed. There is a national limitation on the amount of qualified school construction bonds that may be issued by state and local governments of $22 billion ($11 billion allocated initially in 2009 and the remainder allocated in 2010). There is a national limitation on the amount of qualified school construction bonds that may be issued by Indian tribal governments of $400 million ($200 million allocated initially in 2009 and the remainder allocated in 2010). |
$9,877,000,000 |
|
Extension and Increase in Authorization for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs). The bill would allow an additional $1.4 billion of QZAB issuing authority to state and local governments in 2009 and 2010, which can be used to finance renovations, equipment purchases, developing course material and training teachers and personnel at a qualified zone academy. In general, a qualified zone academy is any public school (or academic program within a public school) below college level that is located in an empowerment zone or enterprise community and is designed to cooperate with businesses to enhance the academic curriculum and increase graduation and employment rates. QZABs are a form of tax credit bonds which offer the holder a federal tax credit instead of interest. |
$1,045,000,000 |
|
Tax Credit Bond Option for State and Local Governments (“Build America Bonds”). The federal government provides significant financial support to state and local governments through the federal tax exemption for interest on municipal bonds. Both tax credit bonds and tax-exempt bonds provide a subsidy to municipalities by reducing the cash interest payments that a state or local government must make on its debt. Tax credit bonds differ from tax-exempt bonds in two principal ways: interest paid on tax credit bonds is taxable and a portion of the interest paid on tax credit bonds takes the form of a federal tax credit. The federal tax credit offsets a portion of the cash interest payment that the state or local government would otherwise need to make on the borrowing. For 2009 and 2010, the bill would provide state and local governments with the option of issuing a tax credit bond instead of a tax-exempt governmental obligation bond. Because the market for tax credits is currently small given current economic conditions, the bill would allow the state or local government to elect to receive a direct payment from the federal government equal to the subsidy that would have otherwise been delivered through the federal tax credit for bonds. |
$4,348,000,000 |
|
Long-term Extension and Modification of Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit. The bill would extend the placed-in-service date for wind facilities for three years (through Dec. 31, 2012). The bill would also extend the placed-in-service date for three years (through Dec. 31, 2013) for certain other qualifying facilities: closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy and marine renewable facilities. |
$13,143,000,000 |
|
Temporary Election to Claim the Investment Tax Credit in Lieu of the Production Tax Credit. Under current law, facilities that produce electricity from solar facilities are eligible to take a 30% investment tax credit in the year that the facility is placed in service. Facilities that produce electricity from wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy and marine renewable facilities are eligible for a production tax credit. The production tax credit is payable over a 10-year period. Because of current market conditions, it is difficult for many renewable projects to find financing due to the uncertain future tax positions of potential investors in these projects. The bill would allow facilities to elect to claim the investment tax credit in lieu of the production tax credit. |
$285,000,000 |
|
Repeal Subsidized Energy Financing Limitation on the Investment Tax Credit. Under current law, the investment tax credit must be reduced if the property qualifying for the investment tax credit is also financed with industrial development bonds or through any other federal, state, or local subsidized financing program. The bill would repeal this subsidized energy financing limitation on the investment tax credit in order to allow businesses and individuals to qualify for the full amount of the investment tax credit even if such property is financed with industrial development bonds or through any other subsidized energy financing. (*Cost of this is included in the next provision, Removal of Dollar Limitations on Certain Energy Credits) |
$0 |
|
Removal of Dollar Limitations on Certain Energy Credits. Under current law, businesses are allowed to claim a 30% tax credit for qualified small wind energy property (capped at $4,000). Individuals are allowed to claim a 30% tax credit for qualified solar water heating property (capped at $2,000), qualified small wind energy property (capped at $500 per kilowatt of capacity, up to $4,000), and qualified geothermal heat pumps (capped at $2,000). The bill would repeal the individual dollar caps. As a result, each of these properties would be eligible for an uncapped 30% credit. |
$872,000,000 |
|
Clean Renewable Energy Bonds. The bill authorizes an additional $1.6 billion of new clean renewable energy bonds to finance facilities that generate electricity from the following resources: wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewable and trash combustion facilities. This $1.6 billion authorization will be subdivided into thirds: 1/3 will be available for qualifying projects of state/local/tribal governments; 1/3 for qualifying projects of public power providers; and 1/3 for qualifying projects of electric cooperatives. |
$578,000,000 |
|
Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds. The bill authorizes an addition $2.4 billion of qualified energy conservation bonds to finance state, municipal and tribal government programs and initiatives designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would also clarify that qualified energy conservation bonds may be issued to make loans and grants for capital expenditures to implement green community programs. The bill also clarifies that qualified energy conservation bonds may be used for programs in which utilities provide ratepayers with energy-efficient property and recoup the costs of that property over an extended period of time. |
$803,000,000 |
|
$2,034,000,000 |
|
|
Tax Credits for Alternative Refueling Property. The alternative refueling property credit provides a tax credit to gas stations that install alternative fuel pumps, such as fuel pumps that dispense E85 fuel, electricity, hydrogen and natural gas. For 2009 and 2010, the bill would increase the 30% alternative refueling property credit for businesses (capped at $30,000) to 50% (capped at $50,000). Hydrogen refueling pumps would remain at a 30% credit percentage; however, the cap for hydrogen refueling pumps will be increased to $200,000. In addition, the bill would increase the 30% alternative refueling property credit for individuals (capped at $1,000) to 50% (capped at $2,000). |
$54,000,000 |
|
Plug-in Electric Drive Vehicle Credit. The bill modifies and increases a tax credit passed into law at the end of last Congress for plug-in electric drive vehicles placed in service during the year. The base amount of the credit is $2,500. If the qualified vehicle draws propulsion from a battery with at least 5 kilowatt hours of capacity, the credit is increased by $417, plus another $417 for each kilowatt hour of battery capacity in excess of 5 kilowatt hours up to 16 kilowatt hours. Taxpayers may claim the full amount of the allowable credit up to the end of the first calendar quarter in which the manufacturer records its 200,000th sale of a plug-in electric drive vehicle. The credit is reduced in following calendar quarters. The credit is allowed against the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The bill also restores and updates the electric vehicle credit for plug-in electric vehicles that would not otherwise qualify for the larger plug-in electric drive vehicle credit and provides a tax credit for plug-in electric drive conversion kits. |
$2,002,000,000 |
|
Addition of Permanent Sequestration Requirement to CO2 Capture Tax Credit. Last year, Congress provided a $10 credit per ton for the first 75 million metric tons of carbon dioxide captured and transported from an industrial source for use in enhanced oil recovery and $20 credit per ton for carbon dioxide captured and transported from an industrial source for permanent storage in a geologic formation. Facilities were required to capture at least 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year to qualify. The bill would require that any taxpayer claiming the $10 credit per ton for carbon dioxide captured and transported for use in enhanced oil recovery must also ensure that such carbon dioxide is permanently stored in a geologic formation. |
$0 |
|
Parity for Transit Benefits. Current law provides a tax-free fringe benefit employers can provide to employees for transit and parking. Those benefits are set at different dollar amounts. This provision would equalize the tax-free benefit employers can provide for transit and parking. The proposal sets both the parking and transit benefits at $230 a month for 2009, indexes them equally for 2010 and clarifies that certain transit benefits apply to federal employees. |
$192,000,000 |
|
Treasury Department Energy Grants in Lieu of Tax Credits. Under current law, taxpayers are allowed to claim a production tax credit for electricity produced by certain renewable energy facilities and an investment tax credit for certain renewable energy property. These tax credits help attract private capital to invest in renewable energy projects. Economic conditions have undermined the effectiveness of these tax credits. As a result, the bill would allow taxpayers to receive a grant from the Treasury Department in lieu of tax credits. This grant will operate like the current-law investment tax credit. The Treasury Department will issue a grant in an amount equal to 30% of the cost of the renewable energy facility within 60 days of the facility being placed in service or, if later, within 60 days of receiving an application for such grant. |
$5,000,000 |
|
One-time grants to encourage states to increase unemployment coverage; also for administrative costs |
$2,975,000,000 |
|
Temporarily waives interest payments on loans received by state unemployment trust funds through Dec. 31, 2010 |
$1,100,000,000 |
|
Extends unemployment for 13 weeks to railroad workers not included in the federal/state unemployment system and provide aid to states for the administration of this program |
$159,000,000 |
|
Creates a capped, temporary Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund to help states during the recession |
$2,418,000,000 |
|
Provides additional aid to states with high population growth and increased poverty |
$319,000,000 |
|
Repeals cuts to child support enforcement |
$1,000,000,000 |
|
$86,600,000,000 |
|
|
Increases state hospital payments by 2.5% |
$460,000,000 |
|
Extends a moratorium on Medicaid regulations for case management, provider taxes and school-based administration and transportation services through June 30, 2009 |
$105,000,000 |
|
Eliminates cost-sharing for American Indians and Alaska natives in Medicaid, protects tribal property and maintains access to Indian health facilities |
$134,000,000 |
|
Temporarily applied Medicaid prompt payment requirements for nursing facilities and hospitals |
$680,000,000 |
|
$19,200,000,000 |
|
|
Medicare payments for teaching hospitals |
$191,000,000 |
|
Medicare payments for hospices |
$134,000,000 |
|
Medicare payments to long-term care hospitals |
$13,000,000 |
|
Extension of Emergency Unemployment Compensation. Through Dec. 31, 2009, the bill continues the emergency unemployment compensation program, which provides up to 33 weeks of extended unemployment benefits to workers exhausting their regular benefits. |
$26,960,000,000 |
|
Increases weekly unemployment benefits by an additional $25 through 2009 |
$8,800,000,000 |
|
Extends transitional medical assistance from June 30, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2010 |
$1,300,000,000 |
|
Extends the qualified individual program, which assists low-income individuals with Medicare Part B premiums through Dec. 31, 2010 |
$550,000,000 |
|
Premium subsidies for COBRA continuation for unemployed workers |
$24,700,000,000 |
|
TOTAL CUTS |
$480,533,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
SUM TOTAL |
$799,256,307,000 |
Are you still awake? Not that I’m against people helping people, but what do immunization and rehabilitation programs have to do with stabilizing the economy? Long-term savings in government-provided health care costs or something? Of course, spending $650 million on the analog-to-digital conversion is a key component of our economic recovery. God forbid the people sitting around watching reruns on their analog sets miss a single uplifting word of rhetoric from the new administration. Of course more money for National Endowment for the Arts grants will go a long way. We must have art to bring joy into this dismal situation; conveniently forgetting that the general public can no longer afford to buy theater tickets or pay the admission to museums, even if they had enough time leftover from working 2 or 3 jobs just to put food on the table and keep the mortgage paid. But hey, it looks good on paper.
Apparently it is critical to our economic recovery that we have “domestic passport” training and buildings in which to hold it. Huh?
I’m sure you can find many more examples. That is, if you care enough to look. The real problem is that most people don’t care enough and don’t take the time to understand just what their elected representatives are doing. They rely on sound bites from the main-stream media, who has its own money-driven agenda so is rarely objective. For most people, whether or not this week’s favorite tv show is a rerun or not is of more immediate consequence.
Taking that near-trillion amount of dollars and dividing it up among all U.S. households would give every one of them about $7,000. Sure, much to the fears of certain financial “gurus”, some people would tuck it away in savings; others would use to help pay off their debts, thereby freeing more of their income for spending, while others would blow it as fast as they blew Bush’s little stimulus check. But no…direct help just ain’t the way the game is played. Our government, our public servants, don’t want to serve, they want to control.
So…what are YOU going to do with that extra $13 in your paycheck each week?
When it all blows up in our face, as this bill is inevitably bound to do, there will come a great weeping and wailing, a wringing of hands and pointing of fingers. Except the fingers should be pointing at the face they see in the mirror. Because YOU elected these idiots and then YOU sat back and let them “take care” of you.
I just hate the unfairness that the good people must get flushed down the toilet, too.
“We do not torture; we abide by the Geneva Conventions,” President Obama said in his first prime-time news conference. Alluding to, of course, the Bush administration’s “controversial” interrogation policies and much-publicized, Democratically-denounced use of “state secrets” privilege to cover up abuses.
If you believe that, I have a bridge for sale in which you might be interested.
Like Pontius Pilate washing his hands of Jesus’ fate by throwing his life into the hands of the citizens, our conveniently-humane Democratic administration will continue to send suspected terrorists and other threatening-type accused criminals to other countries to be interrogated.
Other countries who, of course, don’t abide by the Geneva Conventions.
In the lawsuit Mohamed et al v Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., the Department of Justice stated yesterday it would keep – even “embrace” – the same position as the Bush administration. Without ambiguity. Even as reported by the decidedly brown-nosed, Democratic suck-up, the New York Times:
“[A] lawyer for the government, Douglas N. Letter, made the same state-secrets argument on Monday, startling several judges on the panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
“Is there anything material that has happened” that might have caused the Justice Department to shift its views, asked Judge Mary M. Schroeder, an appointee of President Jimmy Carter, coyly referring to the recent election.
“No, your honor,” Mr. Letter replied.
“The change in administration has no bearing?” she asked.
“No, your honor,” he said once more. The position he was taking in court on behalf of the government had been “thoroughly vetted with the appropriate officials within the new administration,” and “these are the authorized positions,” he said.
This has been an extremely well-documented case, with Jeppesen Dataplan linked to multiple, specific CIA rendition flights to Egypt and Morocco, to CIA sites in Afghanistan and eastern Europe. In this case, having picked one of the plaintiffs up off the streets of Stockholm, chaining him to the floor of an airplane, and then delivering him to Egypt, where he was beaten and tortured.
Claims of “secrecy” are laughable when there are books in print and even President Obama’s much-beloved UN, along with the Swedish government, have investigated the case, with the Swedish government recently agreeing to pay this plaintiff, Ahmed Agiza, $450,000 for its secondary role in the CIA’s rendition of Agiza to Egypt. There is no “secrecy” when Jeppesen’s role is public, Sweden’s role is public, and Egypt’s role is public (Agiza remains in an Egyptian prison).
The only thing Obama administration wants to keep “secret” is that they are lying to the American people about their failure to adhere to the Geneva Conventions. Because no matter how you slice it and pour liquid on it, torture for hire is still torture.
Whether your name is Pontius Pilate or Barrack Obama.
Referring to President Obama’s first 2 weeks in office, Sen. Lindsey Graham said in an interview this week, “Having lunch is not leading … and doing TV interviews is not leading.”
Now, for all the smug sniping about Republicans acting like sore losers, if you take take a step back and look at what’s really going on, he’s right. Campaigning for something isn’t the same as leading the effort to get the work done, as any smart manager will tell you. Oh, sure, a leader’s role is to be the more public “face” of those who follow, but if that leader doesn’t have a clue about what their followers are doing (the work) or become addicted to the public visibility, then you end up with burned-out, flattened companies watching in dismay as their “leader” sails off into the sunset on their golden parachute.
Kinda like what just happened with Wall Street.
Suspicions at first then become doubts, it should now be quite obvious that President Obama didn’t have a clue about what he was getting into when he decided to run for office. If you look at how he spent his pre-election “public servant” adult years, the sum total of which consists of an entire, decidedly short political career out and about humping about on one campaign trail or another (despite assuring his Illinois constituents in 2004 that he had no intentions of pursuing anything else in 2008), when you look behind the glam the media has foisted on him, Barrack Obama has frighteningly little experience with the real nuts and bolts of the tasks required of our elected officials. He can parrot back the theories but doesn’t know how to apply them to real life, and now we hear complaints of “exhaustion” surfacing after a mere 2 weeks in office. Poor guy; I’m sure it’s exhausting to try and make sense of the utterly unfamiliar.
In the real world, the truth is that most of us who still have a job are chronically exhausted working at them. But we aren’t getting at least some small consolation by being able to dine on Wagu beef in a nice, toasty office.
An interesting tidbit that helps explain the strange, self-serving mindset of far too many of those who are supposed to serve us in Washington is found in an statute enacted by Congress in 1856 that calls for lawmakers’ pay to be docked if they missed work for any reason other than an illness of their own or of a family member. The rule was never enforced, of course; though in 1906 it was taken down off its dusty shelf in order to make a point, and in 2005 the Senate cunningly exempted its members. For better or for worse, the House of Representatives has not yet done so.
This essentially means that you can get yourself elected to a job in Congress, get paid $169,000 a year, and then do whatever you want, whenever you want, without fear of losing your job before the end of its “contract”. You can even focus the majority of your efforts on finding another, even better-paying job without any repurcussions except perhaps creating negative public opinion for yourself. Which, if you have thick enough skin, is little more than an annoyance, a distraction from the ultimate goal of getting the most (ego-boosts, money, take your pick) for the least amount of effort, a buzzing little fly to be brushed away without thought.
It is this, then, that is the sum total of our president’s Washington experience and the substance of his qualifications for office. And you wonder why this country now finds itself festooning the south end of a north-running horse?
If the statute were to be enforced, based on attendance records of many, many of our elected officials, it would provide another tidy little revenue stream to add to the back taxes suddenly coming out of the pockets of Obama nominees.
But you won’t hear anything even remotely resembling anything like that. It smacks too much of accountability. No, indeedy; we’ll just do what we know how to do best – lead by continuing to campaign for change.
Buddy, can you spare a dime?
Last month Nancy Pelosi went on record as saying that unless the pork…errr…stimulus package passes, 500 million of our nation’s 303 million people will lose their jobs every month. When asked if she meant 500 thousand people a month, she brushed it off by saying it “feels like 500 million”.
Such morbid stupidity and inconsideration towards the most simple of facts when in foaming, rabid pursuit of rancid pork becomes even more frightening when you remember that the Speaker of the House is 3rd in line to the presidency. It makes me wonder if President Obama’s apparent attraction to big mouths and little tiny brain cells is just to make his own underwhelmingly average self look better? And it makes me wonder if Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden are somehow related; maybe sharing a not-so-distant ancestor who practiced more than a little incest in the old nest?
I watch the unfolding of these first 2 weeks of what was anticipated as eagerly as the real Messiah’s coming and slowly it dawns on me that if this really is the best we can do, maybe it’s time to consider relocating. To Russia. As good as the Democrats and the main-stream media have been making George W. Bush look lately, even old Putin ain’t lookin’ so bad himself. At least the Russian Federation has a long, distinguished and solid record of experience in governmental tyranny and they’ve stockpiled enough weapons of mass destruction to give anyone a run for their money.
Oh, wait. We don’t have any money any more. That’s why we’re going to spend what really totals out to over a TRILLION DOLLARS to boost our non-existent economy. After all, when you have more people becoming unemployed each month than live in the whole country, something equally fantastic has to be done.
The Speaker really needs to just sit down and shut up.
President Obama took his first ride on his very own, brand-new Air Force One today in his new role. His destination? A House Democrat’s retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia.
I won’t quibble about the fact that the Democrats need to huddle closely together to try and figure out how they’re going to wriggle out of the messy spotlight in which so many now find themselves, and come to consensus on what color smoke to blow over the American people about the so-called “stimulus” bill that is fast becoming an albatross around their necks as public opinion continues to turn against it. But the important question is whether or not you know how far the President traveled today. Any guesses?
According to Google maps, 107 miles.
Yes. A mere 107 miles.
The auto executives were soundly criticized for flying private jets the 524 miles from Detroit to Washington, D.C. for bailout talks but it’s ok for our leader to rally on about “saving energy” from the Orchid Office yet fly a mere 1/5th of that?
One hundred and seven miles.
One hundred and seven measly little miles. That’s the daily commute for some normal, hard-working American citizens.
Give me a break. A smoke break. Heck, at this point, give me a drink, too.
It would have been far less expensive to you and me, the taxpayers, and far more appropriate for him to have rented a bus.
A short bus.