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Planning Association analyzes the Senate and House stimulus bills
APA Advocate, American Planning Association
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed the $838 billion stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1), on a 61-37 vote.
… Though the Senate bill is relatively close in total cost to the one passed by the House, there are significant differences in priorities between the House and Senate versions that suggest difficult negotiations between the two chambers.
… Here is a full list of proposed funding for key programs:
| Selected Programs | House Bill | Senate Bill |
| Highways and Bridges | $30 billion | $27 billion |
| Transit | $12 billion | $8.4 billion |
| Amtrak | $800 million | $850 million |
| High Speed Rail | Funding priority | $2 billion |
| Discretionary Multi-Modal | No provision | $5.5 billion |
| CDBG | $1 billion | No provision |
| Energy Efficiency Block Grants | $3.5 billion | $4.2 billion |
| Neighborhood Stabilization | $4.2 billion | No provision |
| Water and Waste Water | $1.1 billion | $963 million |
| Federal Green Buildings | $6.7 billion | $6 billion |
| School Construction | $14 billion | No provision |
(10 February 2009)
Daniel Lerch of Post Carbon Institue writes:
A particularly good breakdown of the Senate and House economic stimulus bills, written by the Legislative & Policy issues team of the American Planning Association.
California budget woes may stop 276 public works projects
Wyatt Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle
Nearly 300 state-funded public works projects will go forward through Friday, but they could be stopped cold if state leaders cannot find a solution to California’s budget crisis by the end of the week.
The Pooled Money Investment Board that controls financing for such jobs already has stopped funding 5,600 projects as a result of the state’s cash crunch, allowing the remaining 276 projects to continue because stopping them would be too costly.
But time is running short.
“We have not made the call to shut those down pending how budget negotiations progress over the next several days,” said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state Department of Finance. The finance board is made up of the head of Palmer’s department along with state Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Controller John Chiang.
(10 February 2009)
Recommended by Jeffrey Brown who writes:
Those trendsetters in California. . . . coming to other states soon.
California’s Pain Is Only Beginning
Jim Carlton and Bobby White, Wall Street Journal
Cuts to Parks, Schools and Roads Hint at What’s to Come Under Any Budget Deal
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As Sacramento squabbles over the state’s $42 billion deficit, Californians are getting a bitter taste of what’s to come after the steep budget cuts that are inevitable when legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finally hammer out a deal.
Some world-famous parks like Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park may not open this year. After-school programs in low-income areas are being scuttled, putting high-risk teens on the street just as police forces are being cut. Schools are closing classrooms, and some highway projects have ground to a halt. The state may not be able to monitor some sex offenders as required under law.
A budget deal may restore some of the missing funds. But everyone knows that not all monies will flow again after a deal, and Californians increasingly fear they are seeing a hint of their future.
(11 February 2009)
