U.S. Rep. David Price, who represents the 4th Congressional District, discussed this week how the $787 billion stimulus plan will help the Triangle. The full interview will run Saturday in The Durham News, but here's an excerpt. Price said no specific projects for the 4th District were named in the bill. He said Congress did not allow so-called earmarking to specify money how money would be spent.
Q: How will the money get from Washington to the Triangle?
PRICE: In a number of ways. Some of the money will come directly to individuals. For example, extended unemployment insurance, expanded Pell grants, food stamps, small business loans, premium subsidies for health insurance between jobs — COBRA health insurance. So that’s one way — through individuals.
A lot of the money will come through established channels by formulas, to the states or to localities. For example, the Medicaid support for the states will go out to the states according to a formula which incorporates the number of Medicaid beneficiaries. The highway infrastructure money for the states will go out according to the regular formula. School construction money will go to individual school districts according to their Title 1 allocations. So either localities or states by formula.
And then finally some money will go out by a competitive process where agencies will evaluate applications. For example, there is some additional money in here for National Institutes of Health research, for National Science Foundation research, for building out of broadband. Those are examples of programs where there will be no entitlement, but a competitive process to see what proposals have the greatest merit.
Comments
Highly Specific Earmarking
Fri, 04/03/2009 - 14:14 — eshavmHow can anyone say this bill didn't allow specific earmarks? From what I read, there were tons of them in there and it caused quite the stir for awhile. Of course, since politics is all about crying out against something while doing it anyway, no changes were made to the stimulus package's pet projects. It's quite disappointing that our new administration is still allowing (without even a single action against it) bills to be used like Congress' personal credit card. Seems like business as usual to me!
How paying for this?
Wed, 02/18/2009 - 22:29 — jesmyopinionI hope you asked him how this money for the stimulus bill was going to be paid for? Maybe liberals do not know this, but money does not grow on trees, and this money he voted to spend will need to be paid for by his children and grandchildren. I wonder how they feel about this? Hey Mr. Price - if you are going to vote to spend money, how about paying for it and not passing the tab along to our children and grandchildren!!! It is easy to spend money - the hard part is paying for it (unless you do as you did which was have your children\grandchildren pay for it).