Saturday, January 31, 2009

NOT ONE!

Even with President Obama literally wining and dining Republicans to try to get some of their votes on the stimulus package, not even one Republican voted for the package. Here's a list of some of the items in the package.

I say, enough with bipartisanship, if this is how Republicans are going to vote anyway.
  • An increase in the maximum benefit under the former food stamp program (now called the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or SNAP);
  • An expansion of broadband internet access to rural areas of America;
  • Programs to improve infrastructure and develop rural communities;
  • Improvements to the criminal justice system;
  • funding for science and technology research;
  • Funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services;
  • Funding to repair, maintain and renovate the Department of Defense (DoD) facilities;
  • Energy efficiency projects and modernization of heating/cooling and electrical systems at the DoD;
  • Improving Army barracks;
  • Energy related research and development (renewable energy programs and expansion of existing weatherization activites);
  • Funding for the Army Corps of Engineers (remember the levees in New Orleans that weren’t funded?;
  • Modernization of the nation’s electrical grid;
  • Construction and repair of Federal facilities;
  • Funding for clean water programs and water infrastructure projects;
  • Capital improvements and maintenance for Forest Service and National Park Service, the Superfund program and wildland fire management;
  • Funding for the Department of Health and Human Services;
  • Funding for labor and employment training programs/Department of Labor;
  • Renovations to elementary and secondary schools;
  • Pell Grants and other student financial assistance;
  • Educational programs aimed at elementary and secondary education;
  • Defense construction projects – including hospitals, barracks and day care centers;
  • funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to be used on maintaining VA medical facilities and cemeteries;
  • Funding for Information Technology projects at the State Department;
  • Funding for highway construction;
  • Funding for housing assistance programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
  • Grants to states and cities for community development;
  • Refundable tax credits for middle and lower income families;
  • Increase tax credit for higher education;
  • Extension of tax credit for renewable energy production;
  • Increase the earned income tax credit for lower income families with three or more qualifying children;
  • Increased funding for emergency unemployment benefits for those who exhaust the amount of benefits they collect;
  • Temporary increase in amount of unemployment benefits;
  • Assistance to states for spending on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program;
  • Extension of Medicaid coverage to certain unemployed workers;
  • Assistance with COBRA premium payments for certain unemployed workers; and
  • Incentives for health care providers to use "health information technology" which would reduce health care costs for providers and lower premiums.

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