Liberty Maven

Beware: this post may make you ill.

Aren’t we being told that the $850 billion so-called “stimulus” bill being discussed in Congress would be to prop up our failing economy? Forgetting for a moment the fact that economic stimulus can never work or that it’s unconstitutional,  isn’t the intent of any economic stimulus bill to stimulate the failing economy?

In reality, our new President and the Big Government Democrats and Republicans  in Congress are again using this crisis as an opportunity to fund their pet project and fulfill some of their liberal/progressive agenda.

If the goal is to stimulate the economy to alleviate the effects of the “deepening recession”, then why does the bill contain the following (which is definitely not an exhaustive list):

• $87 billion for Medicare outlays and related spending
• $20 billion toward nutrition assistance program (food stamps)
• $2.8 billion to expand broadband Internet service in rural areas
• $4 billion for programs “to develop rural communities…”

• $3 billion for grants to improve the criminal justice system
• $3 billion for grants to fund science and technology research
• $1 billion for periodic censuses and programs
• $1 billion for programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
  Administration
• $1 billion for the Community Oriented Policing Services program
• $2 billion for “other activities”
• $4 billion to the Department of Defense to repair, maintain, and renovate its facilities; for energy-efficiency projects, including the modernizing of heating/cooling and electrical systems; and for improving
  Army barracks
• $43.9 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE),
• $4.5 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers
• $500 million for the Bureau of Reclamation
• $8.7 billion to promote energy efficiency and conservation at federal facilities and to support small businesses
• $1.1 billion for a variety of programs administered by the Department of Homeland Security
• $8.4 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs)
• $6.6 billion would fund various programs, including capital improvements and maintenance for the Forest Service and National Park Service, the Superfund program, and wildland fire management
• $20.4 billion for programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services
• $4.6 billion for employment and training programs administered by the
  Department of Labor
• $20 billion to renovate elementary and secondary schools
• $17.6 billion for Pell grants and other student financial assistance and facilities at post-secondary institutions including federal student loan programs
• $29.1 billon for other education programs aimed particularly at elementary and secondary education
• $6.0 billion for military construction projects of the Department of Defense
• $1 billion for the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to maintain and repair VA medical facilities and cemeteries
• $276 million would be provided to the Capital Investment Fund for specific information-technology (IT) projects
• $224 million would be provided for construction requirements of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico
• $30 billion for highway construction
• $13.1 billion for other transportation programs administered by DOT
• $11.2 billion for housing assistance programs administered by HUD
• $5.2 billion for grants to states and cities for activities related to community development
• $41.2 billion per year for 10 highway programs at the state and local level
• $10.4 billion per year for transit programs at the state and local level
• $39.5 billion available to states each twice a year to help them balance their books
• $7.5 billion in each year would be reserved for incentive grants to be given to states on a competitive basis in fiscal year 2010, based on states meeting specified criteria in how they spent their initial allocations
• $2.3 billion “emergency” spending for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program
• a variety of tax credits for desired behavior
• additional unemployment benefits

What?  Broadband internet? Census programs? Medicare?  Cemeteries? What does any of that have to do with fiscal stimulus?

The list above contains very broad categories for spending, which is bad enough.  But if you dig deeper, it becomes harder to remember this is supposed to be a “stimulus” bill.  Here are a couple of examples:

• The General Services Administration has issued a request for sources for a leased or to-beconstructed facility but will not proceed further without funding from HHS. The $88 million provided will cover fit-out and moving costs, including office furniture.  Agency budgets will cover the cost of the lease for the new facility.
• Training for Primary Care Physicians and Nurses Recovery funding: $600 million A key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary health care providers – family medicine, internal medicine, pediatricians, dentists, and nurses.  Funding for health professions training for these disciplines has withered in the past decade.
• Children and Families Services Programs – Head Start/Early Head Start Recovery funding: $2.1 billion Head Start provides comprehensive education, health and nutrition, and social/emotional development services to help ensure that low-income children can succeed in school.

The more you read into it, the more it becomes clear that this bill is nothing more than a major leap forward for the Progressive movement, and it will do absolutely nothing to aid our country’s economic ills.  But it will certainly add a lot more to our budget deficit and national debt, which is already overbearing.

The entire bill (which is currently 1,588 pages long) is available at www.readthestimulus.org.  The site also offers a handy feature that lets you quickly and easily search the entire bill for any keywords you specify.  What other pork can you find in this bill?  I encourage readers to post additional specific examples of pork spending (not related to economic stimulus) in the comment section.

Also, now is the time to contact your representatives to let them know how you feel about this bill.  They may be voting on this bill today, so time is of the essence!