Substance Abuse Training: Have You Seen the Pork That Has Been Identified in the Stimulus Bill?
Question by Obama – Wimp in the White House: Have you seen the pork that has been identified in the stimulus bill?
• $ 2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient.
• A $ 246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.
• $ 650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program.
• $ 88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship).
• $ 448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.
• $ 248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.
• $ 600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees.
• $ 400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD’s.
• $ 1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.
• $ 125 million for the Washington sewer system.
• $ 150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities.
• $ 1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $ 3 billion.
• $ 75 million for “smoking cessation activities.”
• $ 200 million for public computer centers at community colleges.
• $ 75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI.
• $ 25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction.
• $ 500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.
• $ 10 million to inspect canals in urban areas.
• $ 6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings.
• $ 500 million for state and local fire stations.
• $ 650 million for wildland fire management on forest service lands.
• $ 1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs.
• $ 88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service.
• $ 412 million for CDC buildings and property.
• $ 500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland.
• $ 160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service.
• $ 5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.
• $ 850 million for Amtrak.
• $ 100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint.
• $ 75 million to construct a “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies.
• $ 110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems.
• $ 200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations
Would someone explain to me on a line by line basis how these items stimulate the economy? Funny thing is the SCHIP bill that just passed is funded by tax increases on smokers. But this bill has $ 75 million for “smoking cessation activities.” So how can we pay for SCHIP if we are going to get smokers to quit?
Best answer:
Answer by willtheendbenear
There is no need to go line-by-line.
It is pure pork, plan and simple.
Although some of the items, like the Coast Guard ice-breaker, are good expenditures, they are not able to STIMULATE the economy. Tax incentives to companies who hire additional full time employees, or increase productivity are the ways to go, but
• $ 412 million for CDC buildings and property
• $ 448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.
• $ 248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.
are not justified. These items must go.
Whereas, the
• $ 1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs.
does pose a plausible stimulus, by preparing teens for entering the work force.
This is why a line-item-veto or single item legislation must be enacted. And to think Obama promised change. The only change here is what will be left in the tax payer’s wallet when the Dems get done with us.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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