final stimulus bill

House and Senate negotiators settled Wednesday on a $789 billion package of tax cuts and new federal spending meant to save the US economy from a deep recession, or worse.

Today, President Barack Obama is expected to sign the economic stimulus bill, officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Final congressional action came late on February 13 in the Senate, where three Republicans joined 55 Democrats and two Independents to pass the bill by a vote of 60-38, the minimum majority needed for approval. In the House, the legislation passed by a vote of 246-183; no Republicans voted in favor of it.

While difficult to tally, it is estimated that roughly $130 billion of the bill is earmarked for construction-related spending. Below are some highlights.

The final plan expends $20 billion less than the House’s original version and $39 billion less than the Senate’s. Tax cuts for workers, including those who don’t earn enough to pay income taxes, still make up about one-third of the overall expenditure.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, in announcing the deal, said the package would create 3.5 million jobs – more than the Senate bill and at less cost than the House bill.

Most of the $789 billion would flow into the economy during the next two years, though some would take 10 years to filter out to recipients. Economists debate whether that is soon enough to bring the economy out of its tailspin, though many agree the federal government has become the consumer of last resort and must act.

The deal followed intense, tough negotiations involving key House and Senate Democrats, the White House, and three Republican senators, whose votes are critical for passing the bill in the Senate.

“I’m pleased to announce we’ve been able to bridge those differences,” said Senator Reid, who, in an unusual move, named himself one of the conferees.

One key issue was settling on a top line. President Obama had asked Congress to pass a stimulus plan of about $800 billion. The House bill came in at $819 billion; the Senate’s version maxed out at $838 billion.

But with the swing votes to make or break the deal, the three GOP senators held the final bill to less than $800 billion. In the end, the compromise struck last Friday by a bipartisan group of moderates led by Sens. Susan Collins (R) of Maine and Ben Nelson (D) of Nebraska set the template for the final agreement.

“We hung tough, and it was modified only in the case of absolute necessity,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (R) of Pennsylvania, who along with Senator Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine gave the bill its only GOP votes in the Senate.

GOP moderates insist this new government spending is only temporary. Beneficiaries of the new federal spending include the following.

TRANSPORTATION: $49.3 billion
Highways: $27.5 billion
High-speed rail: $9.3 billion
Transit: $8.4 billion
Airport Improvement Program, construction grants: $1 billion
Coast Guard, acquisition and facility upgrades/construction: $98 million

ENERGY: $30.6 billion
Electricity grid, including “Smart Grid” activities: $11 billion
Energy efficiency and conservation grants: $6.3 billion
Renewable-energy loan guarantees: $6 billion
Home weatherization assistance: $5 billion
Carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects: $1.5 billion
Clean Coal Power Initiative: $800 million

WATER/ENVIRONMENT: $20.1 billion
Department of Energy, environmental cleanup: $6 billion
Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Water and Drinking Water funds: $6 billion
Corps of Engineers, civil works: $4.6 billion
Agriculture Department, rural water and waste-disposal facilities: $1.3 billion
EPA cleanup, including Superfund: $1.2 billion

BUILDINGS: $13.4 billion
General Services Administration (GSA), energy-efficiency upgrades for federal buildings: $4.5 billion
Facilities on federal and tribal lands: $3 billion
National Institutes of Health, facilities upgrades/construction: $1.5 billion
National Science Foundation, research equipment and facilities upgrades/construction: $600 million
Department of Homeland Security, new headquarters: $450 million
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, procurement, acquisition, and facilities construction: $430 million
Department of Homeland Security, ports of entry: $420 million
National Institute of Standards and Technology, facilities construction: $360 million
Department of Agriculture, facilities: $330 million
Border stations and ports of entry: $300 million
U.S. Courthouses and other GSA buildings: $300 million
Fire stations: $210 million
State Department, Capital Investment Fund: $90 million
Smithsonian facilities: $25 million

HOUSING/HUD: $9.6 billion
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Public Housing Capital Fund: $4 billion
HUD, redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes: $2 billion
HUD, Community Development Block Grants: $1 billion
HUD, energy retrofits, "green" projects in HUD-assisted housing projects: $250 million

DEFENSE/VETERANS: $7.8 billion
Veterans Affairs, medical facilities upgrades/construction: $1.25 billion
Department of Defense (DOD), facilities upgrades/construction: $4.2 billion
DOD, military “quality of life’ projects, such as housing and child-care centers: $2.3

SCHOOLS: $0
School construction was not a specific line item in the bill. However, $39.5 billion of the bill's $53.6-billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund will go to local school districts, and school modernization would be one of several eligible uses of the money. Presumably, states will decide how to spend the school “stabilization” allotments, although new school construction is not eligible.