Al's Morning Meeting

Congressmen openly admit that they have not read the contents of the largest spending bill they have ever been asked to vote on. The bill, which the House approved Friday afternoon without a single Republican vote, now stands at 1,071 pages and was not even completed until Thursday night.

You may recall that House Democrats told the American people they would be able to see the contents of the bill at least 48 hours before any vote. That didn't happen.

Republican Congressman John Culberson of Texas told reporters that the rush to pass the bill is linked to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's need to hop a flight to Rome this evening. Culberson is an avid Twitter user and has been Tweeting all day about his opposition to the bill and the rushed vote. He also uses Qik to broadcast live from his cellphone.

The bill would send a one-time $250 check to Social Security recipients. Working individuals would get a two-year $400 tax credit, and working couples would get $800, distributed through a payroll tax deduction or claimed as a lump sum for the 2009 and 2010 tax years.

Here is the bill as it stands, in PDF format:

• Bill Text -- Division A

• Bill Text -- Division B

• Bill Text -- Signatures of Managers

• Joint Statement -- Division A

• Joint Statement -- Division B

• Summary Update: American Recovery Reinvestment -- Conference Report
  

According to the conference report above, the bill includes:

• Investments in Infrastructure and Science -- $120 billion 
• Investments in Health -- $14.2 billion  
• Investments in Education and Training -- $105.9 billion 
• Investments in Energy, including over $30 billion in infrastructure -- $37.5 billion 
• Helping Americans Hit Hardest by the Economic Crisis -- $24.3 billion 
• Law Enforcement, Oversight, Other Programs -- $7.8 billion

Despite the "shovel-ready" programs, as they're often referred to, a lot of the spending for this new bill is aimed toward social programs, not WPA-like construction projects involving roads, bridges, dams, levees, wetlands, national parks and such. The infrastructure spending in this bill would go toward increased security, broadband build-outs, border security and veterans.

Infrastructure improvements include:

• $7.2 billion to increase broadband access and usage in unserved and underserved areas of the nation, which will better position the U.S. for economic growth, innovation and job  creation
  

• $2.75 billion for the Department of Homeland Security to secure the homeland and promote economic activity, including $1 billion for airport baggage and checkpoint security, $430 million for construction of border points of entry, $210 million for construction of fire stations, $300 million for port, transit and rail security, $280 million for border security technology and communication and $240 million for the Coast Guard 
  

• $4.6 billion in funding for the Corps of Engineers

• $1.2 billion for VA hospital and medical facility construction and improvements, long-term care facilities for veterans, and improvements at VA national cemeteries
  

Transportation spending includes:

• $27.5 billion is included for highway investments
  

• $8.4 billion for investments in public transportation
  

•  $1.5 billion for competitive grants to state and local governments for transportation investments
  

• $1.3 billion for investments in our air transportation system

• $9.3 billion for investments in rail transportation, including Amtrak, High Speed and Intercity Rail
  

All of the money tagged for social programs is of course a big reason why many people, especially Republicans, say this bill simply will not create the jobs that the administration promises. Moreover, it may be difficult to cut social program spending once it is in place. Republicans are asking why, if this is meant to be a one-time infusion of money into the economy, the spending is going toward ongoing programs. Take a look at what is in the works:
Help for workers and families hit hardest by the economic crisis includes:

• $19.9 billion for additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly Food Stamps, to increase the benefit by 13.6 percent 

• Child Care Development Block Grant: $2 billion to provide quality child care services for an additional 300,000 children in low-income families who increasingly are unable to afford the high cost of day care
  

• Head Start & Early Head Start: $2.1 billion to allow an additional 124,000 children to participate in this program, which provides development, educational, health, nutritional, social and other  activities that prepare children to succeed in school  
  

Public housing spending includes:

• $4 billion to the public housing capital fund to enable local public housing agencies to address a

• $32 billion backlog in capital needs -- especially those improving energy efficiency in aging buildings. 
  

• $2 billion for full-year payments to owners receiving Section 8 project-based rental assistance.  

• $2 billion for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes.  

• $1.5 billion for homeless prevention activities, which will be sent out to states, cities and local governments through the emergency shelter grant formula.
  

This summary provides more details about spending [PDF] and the "accountability and transparency" measures that are included in the bill.

The Washington Post, which is plowing through the bill, lists some of the most noteworthy items in the legislation. Here are some excerpts from the Post article:

• Language relating to school construction had been eliminated -- along with nearly $20 billion in funds

• Governors would be restricted to paying for school renovations and repairs out of a $54 billion pot of money that included other education projects.

• Nearly $15 billion would go to clean-water and environmental protection projects.
  

• Education programs would receive nearly $100 billion in new funding, including $12 billion for special education.

• The bill would make a significant down payment on Obama's health-care and energy agendas. It would provide nearly $20 billion to adopt uniform medical-records technology, portrayed as a job-creating exercise and part of the foundation for broader health-care reform.

• It also includes more than $40 billion for energy-efficiency programs and new energy technologies, including $11 billion to upgrade the national electricity grid.

• Individuals who have lost their jobs during the ongoing recession would receive health care and unemployment assistance.

• On the tax side, the bill calls for a two-year $400 credit to working individuals and $800 to working couples, distributed through a payroll tax deduction or claimed as a lump sum for the 2009 and 2010 tax years.
  

• One of the largest tax provisions, a $70 billion fix to the alternative minimum tax, was inserted into the bill to assure the provision's quick passage.

• College students and home and car buyers would receive incentives, although the latter two benefits were drastically reduced.