Republicans Say Education is Pork Barrel Spending
February 9, 2009 – 11:31 amThis is a list of items on Obama’s stimulus bill that Republicans demanded were cut before they’d give their support. Spoiler alert: Republicans feel education and technology research is pork
Partially cut:
• $3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill $7 billion)
• $75 million from Smithsonian (original bill $150 million)
• $200 million from Environmental Protection Agency Superfund (original bill $800 million)
• $100 million from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (original bill $427 million)
• $100 million from law enforcement wireless (original bill $200 million)
• $300 million from federal fleet of hybrid vehicles (original bill $600 million)
• $100 million from FBI construction (original bill $400 million)
Fully eliminated
• $55 million for historic preservation
• $122 million for Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters
• $100 million for Farm Service Agency modernization
• $50 million for Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service
• $65 million for watershed rehabilitation
• $100 million for distance learning
• $98 million for school nutrition
• $50 million for aquaculture
• $2 billion for broadband
• $100 million for National Institute of Standards and Technology
• $50 million for detention trustee
• $25 million for Marshalls Construction
• $300 million for federal prisons
• $300 million for BYRNE Formula grant program
• $140 million for BYRNE Competitive grant program
• $10 million state and local law enforcement
• $50 million for NASA
• $50 million for aeronautics
• $50 million for exploration
• $50 million for Cross Agency Support
• $200 million for National Science Foundation
• $100 million for science
• $1 billion for Energy Loan Guarantees
• $4.5 billion for General Services Administration
• $89 million General Services Administration operations
• $50 million from Department of Homeland Security
• $200 million Transportation Security Administration
• $122 million for Coast Guard Cutters, modifies use
• $25 million for Fish and Wildlife
• $55 million for historic preservation
• $20 million for working capital fund
• $165 million for Forest Service capital improvement
• $90 million for State and Private Wildlife Fire Management
• $1 billion for Head Start/Early Start
• $5.8 billion for Health Prevention Activity
• $2 billion for Health Information Technology Grants
• $600 million for Title I (No Child Left Behind)
• $16 billion for school construction
• $3.5 billion for higher education construction
• $1.25 billion for project based rental
• $2.25 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization
• $40 billion for state fiscal stabilization (includes $7.5 billion of state
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One Response to “Republicans Say Education is Pork Barrel Spending”
I’m going to make a prediction with my psychic powers! I predict that a whole bunch of people who end up commenting on this will completely miss the fact that most of that funding would go towards paying American PEOPLE, and will continue to call it pork.
I will admit that stuff like funding for the Smithsonian doesn’t seem really very useful, but a lot of the science and education stuff… honestly, teachers don’t work for free and neither can scientists. Where else do they think the money is going??
The only thing that truly bugs me about this bill is that currently, my understanding is that none of it requires any of the building materials and whatnot be American-made, in America… if we want to support our own industry and workers and promote job growth and economic growth, honestly, we need to make those kinds of requirements part of the package.
By JW on Mar 4, 2009