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AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

February 2, 2009

Time to Take a Look at the Senate “Stimulus” Packet --
A Debt our Children, Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren Will be Paying

From Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn’s office:

* The interest payments alone on the stimulus would cost $350 billion over the next ten years, which means the next generation will have to pay the bills.

* The bill contains nothing in it that would stimulate the economy, but it’s only a down-payment on big government spending.

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
* $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"
* $60 million for Arlington National Cemetery
* $850 million for Amtrak
* $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint
* $75 million 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.
* $275 million for "watershed and flood prevention operations"

Bad Policy

* 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 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.
* A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.
* $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 onservation/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 plan to increase solvency of the trust fund.
* Nothing requires the products that are purchased with these funds be here in America. Lithium ion batteries, for instance, are primarily made in Asia.

If concerned, these are the steps you can take:

1.) The bill is currently in the Senate. Call and e-mail Senator Casey at (202) 224-6324 and use the web form: casey.senate.gov/contact/ and Senator Specter at 202) 224-4254 and use web form: specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Co...