General Feed
Wasteful Spending Provisions
- $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year because the project was inefficient
- A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film
- $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program
- $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship)
- $448 million for constructing the Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters
- $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters
- $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees
- $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD's
- $1.4 billion for a rural waste disposal programs
- $125 million for the Washington, D.C. 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
- $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities
- $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 NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD
- $160 million for "paid volunteers" at the Corporation for National and Community Service
- $5.5 million for "energy efficiency initiatives" at the VA "National Cemetery Administration"
- $850 million for Amtrak
- $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint
- $75M to construct a new "security training" facility for State Dept 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.
- IDEA, Part B State Grants: Formula grants to assist the States in meeting the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.
- IDEA Infants and Families: Formula grants to the States to assist them in making early intervention services available to children with disabilities aged birth through 2 and their families.
- State Medicaid Bailout: $87.7 billion Through 3 different mechanisms, the bill would provide additional federal funds to state Medicaid programs over the next 3 years. This is nearly $70 billion more than the governors asked President Obama for in December, and should be a loan to be repaid by the states.
- Eliminates fees on loans from the Small Business Administration, thus pushing private capital toward unproductive businesses and away from productive businesses.
- Increases the definition of "youth" for certain summer job programs from age 21 to age 24.
- $160 million to the Job Corps program at the Dept. of Labor, but not for job programs - rather, to construct, alter or repair buildings.
- Requires a government study on the impact of minimum wage laws on the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.
- $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization (slush) Fund to bailout the States by providing billions of dollars for "education" costs of any kind.
- $47.843 billion is appropriated for a variety of energy programs that are primarily focused on renewable energy development and energy conservation/efficiency. Not one dollar is appropriated to make fossil fuels more affordable in the near future. More than $6 billion of these funds go to environmental clean ups.
- Increases eligibility for "weatherization" assistance to households 200 percent above the poverty level.
- The "Making Work Pay" credit of $500 to every individual making less than $75,000 (or $1000 to couples making $150,000 or less) would pay people whether they are productive or not - akin to welfare.
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP - food stamps) would temporarily suspend the 3-month limit for non-working adults to receive SNAP benefits, thus giving incentives not to find a job.
- Installs government as the creator of broadband deployment regardless of whether the specific local/regional market can sustain it.
- Funds new "green jobs" job-training program without eliminating inefficient job-training programs or consolidating duplicative job-training programs.
- $890 million to the Social Security Administration without any provisions to reduce improper payments, or any planto increase solvency of the trust fund.