Thread: Highlights of Compromise Economic Stimulus Plan

Highlights of Compromise Economic Stimulus Plan

Thursday, February 12, 2009
By Staff, Associated Press

(AP) - Highlights of a nearly $789 billion compromise version of President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan agreed to by Democrats and moderate Senate Republicans. Additional debt costs would add about $330 billion over 10 years. Many provisions expire in two years.

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Spending

AID TO POOR AND UNEMPLOYED

-- $40 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, and increase them by $25 a week; $20 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 14 percent; $4 billion for job training; $3 billion in temporary welfare payments.

DIRECT CASH PAYMENTS

-- $14 billion to give one-time $250 payments to Social Security recipients, poor people on Supplemental Security Income, and veterans receiving disability and pensions.

INFRASTRUCTURE

-- $46 billion for transportation projects, including $27 billion for highway and bridge construction and repair; $8.4 billion for mass transit; $8 billion for construction of high-speed railways and $1.3 billion for Amtrak; $4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers; $4 billion for public housing improvements; $6.4 billion for clean and drinking water projects; $7 billion to bring broadband Internet service to underserved areas.

HEALTH CARE

-- $21 billion to provide a 60 percent subsidy of health care insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program; $87 billion to help states with Medicaid; $19 billion to modernize health information technology systems; $10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities.

STATE BLOCK GRANTS

-- $8 billion in aid to states to defray budget cuts.

ENERGY

-- About $50 billion for energy programs, focused chiefly on efficiency and renewable energy, including $5 billion to weatherize modest-income homes; $6.4 billion to clean up nuclear weapons production sites; $11 billion toward a so-called "smart electricity grid" to reduce waste; $13.9 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy projects; $6.3 billion in state energy efficiency and clean energy grants; and $4.5 billion make federal buildings more energy efficient.

EDUCATION

-- $47 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid to school districts, with great flexibility to use the funds for school modernization and repair; $25 billion to school districts to fund special education and the No Child Left Behind law for students in K-12; $17 billion to boost the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to $5,350; $2 billion for Head Start.

SCIENCE

-- $3 billion for the National Science Foundation for basic science and engineering research; $1 billion for NASA; $1.6 billion research in areas such as climate science, biofuels, high-energy physics and nuclear physics.

HOMELAND SECURITY

-- $2.8 billion for homeland security programs, including $1 billion for airport screening equipment.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

-- $4 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement to hire officers and purchase equipment.

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Taxes

NEW TAX CREDIT

-- Approximately $115 billion for a $400 per-worker, $800 per-couple tax credits in 2009 and 2010. For the last half of 2009, workers could expect to see perhaps $13 a week less withheld from their paychecks starting around June. Millions of Americans who don't make enough money to pay federal income taxes could file returns next year and receive checks. Individuals making more than $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000 would receive reduced amounts.

ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX

-- About $70 billion to spare about 24 million taxpayers from being hit with the alternative minimum tax in 2009. The change would save a family of four an average of $2,300. The tax was designed to make sure wealthy taxpayers can't use credits and deductions to avoid paying any taxes. But it was never indexed to inflation, so families making as little as $45,000 could get significant increases without the change. Congress addresses it each year, usually in the fall.

EXPANDED COLLEGE CREDIT

-- About $13 billion to provide a $2,500 expanded tax credit for college tuition and related expenses for 2009 and 2010. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $160,000.

RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES

-- $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency over 10 years, including: extending tax credits for energy produced from wind, geothermal, hydropower and landfill gas; grants to build renewable energy facilities; tax credits for purchases of energy-efficient furnaces, windows and doors, or insulation; tax credit for families that purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles.

HOMEBUYER CREDIT

-- $3.7 billion to repeal a requirement that a $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit be paid back over time for homes purchased from Jan. 1 to August 31, unless the home is sold within three years.

BONUS DEPRECIATION

-- $5 billion to extend a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up its depreciation through 2009.

AUTO SALES

-- $2.5 billion to makes sales tax on paid on new car purchases tax deductible.

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Politics

$11 billion toward a so-called "smart electricity grid" to reduce waste

Wonder if that's to ration power?

-- $2.8 billion for homeland security programs, including $1 billion for airport screening equipment.

Please, nothing towards something that might actually DO something.

Why not crazy bird...they will be rationing health care through the SCHIP expansion for illegal aliens and stimulus jobs for them too.The American people have been bought off and have sold their souls to the open border cheap labor socialist Devils for a few pieces of silver. The millions of illegal aliens already here and the 5,000 to 10,000 illegally crossing the border every week will also receive welfare and other benefits using stolen identities which they will also use to obtain any stimulus jobs created from that crap sandwich made by the crap that constitutes congress.

Why not crazy bird...they will be rationing health care through the SCHIP expansion for illegal aliens and stimulus jobs for them too

Mybe I'm dumber than a door nail, but how does a grid stop waste? How can it waste electricity? I understand how people might waste electricity, but the only way to stop that kind of waste is to ration it. Right? Like they did for that old man who froze to death........

I have signed up for the energy saving programs when I was in Florida....it was useless....didn't save a dime and was lucky I got electricity during the times I was supposed to get it. I look at the energy usage and unless it's strange weather, my usage is the same or less than the year before, but the price never reflects it. We have more areas around here where they are out of electricity more than they are with it. I'm lucky coz I'm not, but they even changed the rules where they are to replace lost food and such if it's out for long periods of time. And from looking at the shovel ready projects around my area.....energy grid to stop waste is on there somewhere........

Plus, somewhere in the past few days there was an article about what you had to go through to be sure or sign up for a list so they won't cut your electricity if you have life saving medical equipment in your home.

I only mention that because it was months ago they started having articles to old people to ask you if you wanted to leave your children and grandchildren in debt for your medical expenses. That maybe you did need to think if the cost was really worth it. And by the way good luck if you find a Dr. who will accept Medicare because most Dr's said it wasn't worth it.

Just adding 2 and 2........