Quote:
Originally Posted by petch751
what could we have done with $831 billion?
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Tax incentives[edit]
Total: $288 billion
Tax incentives for individuals[edit]
Total: $237 billion
$116 billion: New payroll tax credit of $400 per worker and $800 per couple in 2009 and 2010. Phaseout begins at $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for joint filers.[24]
$70 billion: Alternative minimum tax: a one-year increase in AMT floor to $70,950 for joint filers for 2009.[24]
$15 billion: Expansion of child tax credit: A $1,000 credit to more families (even those that do not make enough money to pay income taxes).
$14 billion: Expanded college credit to provide a $2,500 expanded tax credit for college tuition and related expenses for 2009 and 2010. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $160,000.
$6.6 billion: Homebuyer credit: $8,000 refundable credit for all homes bought between 1/1/2009 and 12/1/2009 and repayment provision repealed for homes purchased in 2009 and held more than three years. This only applies to first-time homebuyers.[38]
$4.7 billion: Excluding from taxation the first $2,400 a person receives in unemployment compensation benefits in 2009.
$4.7 billion: Expanded earned income tax credit to increase the earned income tax credit — which provides money to low income workers — for families with at least three children.
$4.3 billion: Home energy credit to provide an expanded credit to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient in 2009 and 2010. Homeowners could recoup 30 percent of the cost up to $1,500 of numerous projects, such as installing energy-efficient windows, doors, furnaces and air conditioners.
$1.7 billion: for deduction of sales tax from car purchases, not interest payments phased out for incomes above $250,000.
Tax incentives for companies[edit]
Total: $51 billion
$15 billion: Allowing companies to use current losses to offset profits made in the previous five years, instead of two, making them eligible for tax refunds.
$13 billion: to extend tax credits for renewable energy production (until 2014).
$11 billion: Government contractors: Repeal a law that takes effect in 2012, requiring government agencies to withhold three percent of payments to contractors to help ensure they pay their tax bills. Repealing the law would cost $11 billion over 10 years, in part because the government could not earn interest by holding the money throughout the year.
$7 billion: Repeal bank credit: Repeal a Treasury provision that allowed firms that buy money-losing banks to use more of the losses as tax credits to offset the profits of the merged banks for tax purposes. The change would increase taxes on the merged banks by $7 billion over 10 years.
$5 billion: Bonus depreciation, which extends a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up its depreciation through 2009.
Healthcare[edit]
More than 11% of the total bill is allocated to help states with Medicaid
ARRA included the enactment of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, also known as the HITECH Act.[39]
Total health care spending: $155.1 billion[40]
$86.8 billion for Medicaid
$25.8 billion for health information technology investments and incentive payments
$25.1 billion to provide a 65 percent subsidy of health care insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program
$10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities
$2 billion for Community Health Centers
$1.3 billion for construction of military hospitals (military)
$1.1 billion to study the comparative effectiveness of healthcare treatments
$1 billion for prevention and wellness
$1 billion for the Veterans Health Administration
$500 million for healthcare services on Indian reservations
$300 million to train healthcare workers in the National Health Service Corps
$202 million for a temporary moratorium for certain medicare regulations
Education[edit]
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visit with students at Explore Charter School.
Total: $100 billion
$53.6 billion in aid to local school districts to prevent layoffs and cutbacks, with flexibility to use the funds for school modernization and repair (State Fiscal Stabilization Fund)[41]
$15.6 billion to increase Pell Grants from $4,731 to $5,350
$13 billion for low-income public schoolchildren
$12.2 billion for IDEA special education
$2.1 billion for Head Start
$2 billion for childcare services
$650 million for educational technology
$300 million for increased teacher salaries
$250 million for states to analyze student performance
$200 million to support working college students
$70 million for the education of homeless children
Aid to low income workers, unemployed and retirees (including job training)[edit]
Payments to Social Security recipients and people on Supplemental Security Income were parts of the ARRA.
Total: $82.2 billion
$40 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec 31, and increase them by $25 a week
$19.9 billion for the Food Stamp Program
$14.2 billion to give one-time $250 payments to Social Security recipients, people on Supplemental Security Income, and veterans receiving disability and pensions.
$3.45 billion for job training
$3.2 billion in temporary welfare payments (TANF and WIC)
$500 million for vocational training for the disabled
$400 million for employment services
$120 million for subsidized community service jobs for older Americans
$150 million to help refill food banks
$100 million for meals programs for seniors, such as Meals on Wheels
$100 million for free school lunch programs
Infrastructure Investment[edit]
Total: $105.3 billion
Transportation[edit]
Road and highway construction is the biggest single line infrastructure item in the final bill. Projects funded by the ARRA have a sign marking them, like this one in Middletown, Rhode Island.
Sign for an ARRA funded road-widening project on Colorado State Highway 9 north of Breckenridge, Colorado.
Total: $48.1 billion,[42] some in the form of Transportation Income Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants
$27.5 billion for highway and bridge construction projects
$8 billion for intercity passenger rail projects and rail congestion grants, with priority for high-speed rail
$6.9 billion for new equipment for public transportation projects (Federal Transit Administration)
$1.5 billion for national surface transportation discretionary grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak
$1.1 billion in grants for airport improvements
$750 million for the construction of new public rail transportation systems and other fixed guideway systems.
$750 million for the maintenance of existing public transportation systems
$200 million for FAA upgrades to air traffic control centers and towers, facilities, and equipment
$100 million in grants for improvements to domestic shipyards
Water, sewage, environment, and public lands[edit]
Total: $18 billion[43]
$4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers for environmental restoration, flood protection, hydropower, and navigation infrastructure projects
$4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund wastewater treatment infrastructure improvements (EPA)
$2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund drinking water infrastructure improvements (EPA)
$1.38 billion for rural drinking water and waste disposal projects
$1 billion to the Bureau of Reclamation for drinking water projects for rural or drought-likely areas
$750 million to the National Park Service
$650 million to the Forest Service
$600 million for hazardous waste cleanup at Superfund sites (EPA)
$515 million for wildfire prevention projects
$500 million for Bureau of Indian Affairs infrastructure projects
$340 million to the Natural Resources Conservation Service for watershed infrastructure projects
$320 million to the Bureau of Land Management
$300 million for reductions in emissions from diesel engines (EPA)
$300 million to improve Land Ports of Entry (GSA)
$280 million for National Wildlife Refuges and the National Fish Hatchery System
$220 million to the International Boundary and Water Commission to repair flood control systems along the Rio Grande
$200 million for cleanup of leaking Underground Storage Tanks (EPA)
$100 million for cleaning former industrial and commercial sites (Brownfields) (EPA)
Government buildings and facilities[edit]
Impact of the ARRA on Department of Defense facilities across the nation.
Total: $7.2 billion
$4.2 billion to repair and modernize Defense Department facilities.
$890 million to improve housing for service members
$750 million for federal buildings and U.S. Courthouses (GSA)
$250 million to improve Job Corps training facilities
$240 million for new child development centers
$240 million for the maintenance of United States Coast Guard facilities
$200 million for Department of Homeland Security headquarters
$176 million for Agriculture Research Service repairs and improvements
$150 million for the construction of state extended-care facilities
$100 million to improve facilities of the National Guard
Communications, information, and security technologies[edit]
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) map showing the availability of broadband internet access in the U.S.
Total: $10.5 billion
$7.2 billion for complete broadband and wireless Internet access
$1 billion for explosive detection systems for airports
$500 million to update the computer center at the Social Security Administration
$420 million for construction and repairs at ports of entry
$290 million to upgrade IT platforms at the State Department
$280 million to upgrade border security technologies
$210 million to build and upgrade fire stations
$200 million for IT and claims processing improvements for Veterans Benefits Administration
$150 million to upgrade port security
$150 million for the security of transit systems
$50 million for IT improvements at the Farm Service Agency
$26 million to improve security systems at the Department of Agriculture headquarters
Energy Infrastructure[edit]
Total: $21.5 billion[44][45]
$6 billion for the cleanup of radioactive waste (mostly nuclear weapons production sites)[46]
$4.5 billion for the Office of Electricity and Energy Reliability to modernize the nation's electrical grid and smart grid.
$4.5 billion to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings (GSA)
$3.25 billion for the Western Area Power Administration for power transmission system upgrades.
$3.25 billion for the Bonneville Power Administration for power transmission system upgrades.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy research and investment[edit]
Loans and investments into green energy technology are a significant part of the final bill
Total: $27.2 billion
$6 billion for renewable energy and electric transmission technologies loan guarantees
$5 billion for weatherizing modest-income homes
$3.4 billion for carbon capture and low emission coal research
$3.2 billion toward Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants.[47]
$3.1 billion for the State Energy Program to help states invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy
$2 billion for manufacturing of advanced car battery (traction) systems and components.
$800 million for biofuel research, development, and demonstration projects.
$602 million to support the use of energy efficient technologies in building and in industry
$500 million for training of green-collar workers (by the Department of Labor)
$400 million for the Geothermal Technologies Program
$400 million for electric vehicle technologies
$300 million for energy efficient appliance rebates
$300 million for state and local governments to purchase energy efficient vehicles
$300 million to acquire electric vehicles for the federal vehicle fleet (GSA)
$250 million to increase energy efficiency in low-income housing
$204 million in funding for research and testing facilities at national laboratories
$190 million in funding for wind, hydro, and other renewable energy projects
$115 million to develop and deploy solar power technologies
$110 million for the development of high efficiency vehicles
$42 million in support of new deployments of fuel cell technologies
Housing[edit]
Total: $14.7 billion[48]
$4 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for repairing and modernizing public housing, including increasing the energy efficiency of units.
$2.25 billion in tax credits for financing low-income housing construction
$2 billion for Section 8 housing rental assistance
$2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to purchase and repair foreclosed vacant housing
$1.5 billion for rental assistance to prevent homelessness
$1 billion in community development block grants for state and local governments
$555 million in mortgage assistance for wounded service members (Army Corps of Engineers)
$510 million for the rehabilitation of Native American housing
$250 million for energy efficient modernization of low-income housing
$200 million for helping rural Americans buy homes (Department of Agriculture)
$140 million in grants for independent living centers for elderly blind persons (Dept. of Education)
$130 million for rural community facilities (Department of Agriculture)
$100 million to help remove lead paint from public housing
$100 million emergency food and shelter for homeless (Department of Homeland Security)
Scientific research[edit]
NASA is among the government agencies receiving additional funds under the Act
Total: $7.6 billion[citation needed]
$3 billion to the National Science Foundation
$2 billion to the United States Department of Energy
$1 billion to NASA, including "$400 million for space exploration related activities. Of this amount, $50 million [was] to be used for the development of commercial crew space transportation concepts and enabling capabilities."[49]
$600 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
$580 million to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, of which $68 million was spent on new major (+$1M) scientific instruments, $200M went to fund major scientific building construction at research universities, and $110M was spent on new buildings and major upgrades to existing facilities, including energy efficiency and solar panel arrays, at the Gaithersburg MD and Boulder CO campuses.
$230 million for NOAA operations, research and facilities
$140 million to the United States Geological Survey
Other[edit]
President Obama in Ohio on March 6, 2009 for the Graduation of the Columbus Police Division's 114th Class, saying that the ARRA did bring some good news.
Total: $10.6 billion
$4 billion for state and local law enforcement agencies[50]
$1.1 billion in waivers on interest payments for state unemployment trust funds
$1 billion in preparation for the 2010 census
$1 billion in added funding for child support enforcement
$750 million for DTV conversion coupons and DTV transition education
$749 million in crop insurance reinstatement, and emergency loans for farmers
$730 million in SBA loans for small businesses
$500 million for the Social Security Administration to process disability and retirement backlogs
$201 million in additional funding for AmeriCorps and other community service organizations
$150 million for Urban and Rural economic recovery programs
$150 million for an increase of claims processing military staff
$150 million in loans for rural businesses
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts to support artists
$50 million for the National Cemetery Administration
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