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Senate passes $600 billion spending bill
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a spending bill Saturday that allows a 26-year ban on offshore oil drilling to expire, subsidizes federal loans for automakers and offers aid to Gulf Coast hurricane disaster victims.
The House already passed the $600 billion stop gap funding bill on Wednesday. The bill, which passed the Senate on a 78-12 vote, will continue government spending at the current level through March 6, 2009.
President Bush is expected to sign the measure.
The end to the ban on oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is a major victory for Republicans. Speeches at the Republican National Convention last month were often interrupted with chants of "Drill, baby, drill."
The ban will be lifted October 1.
Republicans on Capitol Hill have seized on drilling as a major election year issue, citing multiple public opinion polls that show a majority of Americans support more offshore drilling. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, had incurred Republican wrath for originally blocking any vote on drilling before allowing a vote on limited drilling earlier this month.
The spending bill includes $25 billion in loan guarantees for U.S. automakers, $23-24 billion in disaster aid for flood and hurricane recovery efforts, $2 billion for Pell grants for student loans and $5.2 billion for low-income energy assistance.
Democrats decided to get a vote on this funding measure out of the way but plan to move an economic stimulus package separately. The stimulus package is still being crafted but would likely include an extension of unemployment benefits, food stamps, aid to states for Medicare and Medicaid and billions for infrastructure programs designed to add more jobs to a slowing economy. The Senate overwhelmingly passed a spending bill Saturday that allows a 26-year ban on offshore oil drilling to expire, subsidizes fed... more -
$700 billion is based on nothing
Great article from Forbes:
My favorite part is this line about the 700 billion:
In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.
"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number." Great article from Forbes: My favorite part is this line about the 700 billion: ... more -
Senate Lifts Offshore Drilling Ban In Huge Spending Bill
Senators have passed a spending bill that aids Gulf Coast disaster victims and subsidizes federal loans for automakers. President Bush is expected to sign the measure despite some reservations.
The $634 billion bill provides money to keep the government running until the next president takes office.
The 78-12 vote Saturday also lifts a quarter-century ban on oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. That's a big victory for Republicans.
The Democrats have once again caved into Bush's demands.
Republicans say ending the drilling ban should lower gasoline prices. Democrats say it won't mean additional oil production for years.
Then why did lift the ban?
The lifting of the offshore oil drilling moratorium does not mean drilling is imminent. But it could set the stage for the government to offer leases in some Atlantic federal waters as early as 2011.
The low-interest loans for automakers are intended to help the companies develop technologies and retool factories to meet new standards for cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars.
After hard lobbying, automakers won up to $25 billion in low-interest loans to help them develop technologies and retool factories to meet new standards for cleaner and more fuel-efficient cars.
The legislation also contains 2,322 pet projects totaling $6.6 billion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group. That included 2,025 in the defense portion alone that cost a total of $4.9 billion. Senators have passed a spending bill that aids Gulf Coast disaster victims and subsidizes federal loans for automakers. President Bush... more -
Palin's Road To Nowhere Pork Barrel Project
The bridge to nowhere may never have gotten built, but the road leading to the never built bridge got built.
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Budget deficit soars to $102.8 billion in July
The federal budget deficit soared in July, pushed higher by economic stimulus payments and $15 billion in outlays to protect depositors at failed banks.
The Treasury Department reported that the deficit for July totaled $102.8 billion, nearly triple the $36.4 billion deficit recorded in July 2007.
The deficit outstripped the $97 billion gap that Wall Street economists had been expecting for July.
So far this year, the budget deficit totals $371.4 billion, more than double last year's deficit through the same time period of $157.4 billion.
The Bush administration recently revised its forecast for this year's deficit, lowering it from an estimate of $410 billion, down to $389 billion. However, the Congressional Budget Office is more pessimistic, projecting the deficit for this year will total $400 billion when the current budget year wraps up on Sept. 30.
For the 2009 budget year, which begins Oct. 1, the administration is now projecting a deficit of $482 billion, which would be the highest in dollar terms in history, surpassing the old mark of $413 billion set in 2004.
Through July, government revenues total $2.094 trillion, down 1 percent from the same period a year ago. Revenues have been weaker this year, reflecting the sharp slowdown in the overall economy.
Government spending so far this budget year totals $2.466 trillion, 8.5 percent higher than a year ago. That's in part due to the $168 billion stimulus package Congress passed at the beginning of the year in an effort to keep the country out of a deep recession and because of increased spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The federal budget deficit soared in July, pushed higher by economic stimulus payments and $15 billion in outlays to protect depositor... more -
Obama, McCain, and Financial Disaster - Reason Magazine
"Federal budget policy is a dry subject with far too many numbers and charts, which makes it uninviting to most Americans. But the theme of the current budget story is one that could have come from a blockbuster summer movie: We are doomed. There is a fiscal asteroid on course to pulverize us, and no one is coming to the rescue.
The problem is simple and depressingly familiar. This year, federal spending will exceed federal revenue by more than $400 billion. Given the weak state of the economy, the deficit will get worse before it gets better.
Actually, it may never get better, because the current shortfall coincides with the start of the most dreaded fiscal event of all time: the retirement of the baby boomers, who will soon consume eye-popping amounts in Social Security and Medicare.
If that's not bad enough, Bruce Willis is not on hand to intercept the doomsday object before it arrives. Worse yet, neither Barack Obama nor John McCain wants the job..."
(End of excerpt)
Full article at link by Steve Chapman// Reason Magazine
Image by flickr user w.wabbit licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.e... "Federal budget policy is a dry subject with far too many numbers and charts, which makes it uninviting to most Americans. But th... more -
Taxpayers buy Pelosi $16K worth of flowers
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office, one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her high-profile inaugural year than her low-key predecessor did last year.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) spent a little more than $3 million in the first nine months of 2007, records show, compared to the $1.8 million Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) spent during the same period in 2006.
Republicans are spending more as well. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has increased spending 23 percent above what Pelosi spent when she held the same job. That would be 16 percent if some of Hastert’s closing-out costs were deducted.
The spending patterns indicate Pelosi is seeking to restore the Speaker’s role as a counterweight to the president and reclaim some of the responsibilities Hastert had ceded to his aggressive majority leader, Tom DeLay (R-Texas). Because of their different roles, Pelosi aides say it is unfair to simply compare Pelosi’s spending to Hastert’s.
'When Speaker Pelosi took the gavel, it was an historic moment. In the days since, the Speaker has hosted leaders from across the country and around the world — opening the People’s House to the people and discussing the work of the 110th Congress,' Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said in response to e-mailed questions. 'There are major new costs associated with setting up the new office of the new Speaker of the House.'
Republicans say Pelosi’s office spending undercuts her message that Democrats are restoring fiscal responsibility to the halls of Congress.
'They could have saved the taxpayer $16,000 by sending out an intern to pick flowers from the Capitol lawn, but I guess that would have detracted from the $4 million worth of pork they planted as part of the ‘greening’ project,' said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for Boehner."
(End of excerpt)
Full story at link by Mike Soraghan// TheHill.com "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent $16,000 on flowers since taking office, one reason why she spent 63 percent more in her hig... more -
The Non-Issue that Should Be an Issue
It's the spending, stupid!
When was the last time you heard Senator Obama or Senator McCain give a speech on the bloated public sector? Did Senator Clinton, in her recently concluded presidential bid, ever scold voters who constantly want the government to "give" them more and more services?
These are rhetorical questions. Today our ruling parties tacitly agree that no government department can be eliminated, that major spending reductions are forbidden and that the spending spree must continue.
(End of excerpt)
Full article at link by Gregory Bresiger// Ludwig von Mises Institute (mises.org) It's the spending, stupid! ... more -
Congress wants to spend $200 million to fight bed bugs
H.R. 6068: Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2008 has been introduced by Rep. George Butterfield [D-NC]. It proposes to spend $50 million for each of fiscal years 2009-2012 to help hotels eradicate bed bugs.
For more information on H.R. 6068 please follow the link to the Library of Congress page.
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Image from james-stuf.tripod.com
http://james-stuf.tripod.com/id11.html H.R. 6068: Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2008 has been introduced by Rep. George Butterfield [D-NC]. It proposes to spend $... more -
The $300 billion betrayal
The Pentagon spends hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons systems, but our troops still aren't getting what they need. It's a scandal of enormous proportions that involves deceptive corporations and complacent government officials. But the biggest problem of all is that the people in Washington who could fix it continue to ignore The Pentagon spends hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons systems, but our troops still aren't getting what they need. It�... more
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Perot Charts » Charting Government Fiscal Irresponsibility
Why this web site now? Because we are running out of time. The American people must wake up and face the reality that promises made in the past will soon bankrupt this nation...
"Ross Perot is the father of fiscal charts. PerotCharts.com will help Americans understand the serious fiscal challenges facing our nation. These new electronic charts will also serve to hold elected officials accountable while accelerating needed actions to help ensure that our collective future will be better than our past."
Hon. David M. Walker
President and CEO, Peter G. Peterson Foundation
Former U.S. Comptroller General (1998 - 2008)
Click the following link to view the "Challenges Facing Our Country" presentation from PerotCharts.com
http://perotcharts.com/challenges/ Why this web site now? Because we are running out of time. The American people must wake up and face the reality that promises made i... more -
Top 100 Recipients of Federal Contract Awards for FY 2008
Data from the recently created USAspending.gov website.
http://current.com/items/89001391_usaspending_gov_where...
FY 2008 Rank Parent Company Name Dollars % of total
1 THE BOEING COMPANY $2,883,356,597 5.60%
2 LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION $2,438,000,514 4.73%
3 NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION $1,526,171,116 2.96%
4 LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL SECURITY LLC $1,447,722,456 2.81%
5 LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC $1,039,231,351 2.02%
6 BECHTEL GROUP, INC $996,006,153 1.93%
7 MCKESSON CORPORATION $949,346,059 1.84%
8 ABU DHABI NATIONAL OIL COMPANY FOR DISTRIBUTION $918,256,500 1.78%
9 GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION $806,912,172 1.57%
10 RAYTHEON COMPANY $793,191,177 1.54%
Complete list at link.
*Note: FY 2008 only includes data up to first and part of second quarter.
The contracts database is compiled from government data last released on 04/29/2008 Data from the recently created USAspending.gov website. ... more -
USAspending.gov: where Americans can see where their money goes!
Have you ever wanted to find more information on government spending? Have you ever wondered where federal contracting dollars and grant awards go? Or perhaps you would just like to know, as a citizen, what the government is really doing with your money. The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act) requires a single searchable website, accessible by the public for free that includes for each Federal award:
1. The name of the entity receiving the award;
2. The amount of the award;
3. Information on the award including transaction type, funding agency, etc;
4. The location of the entity receiving the award;
5. A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award.
Welcome to www.USAspending.gov, a relaunch of www.FederalSpending.gov, that provides citizens with easy access to government contract, grant and other award data.
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What a powerful tool! A great step towards government transparency! The following is excerpted from FedSpending.org:
The Federal government has launched USASpending.gov, a website mandated by the Federal Funding, Accountability, and Transparency Act. The website is based on the software that runs FedSpending.org. OMB Watch intends to continue to operate and upgrade FedSpending.org, adding new features and data to provide a more powerful accountability tool for citizens. http://fedspending.org/ Have you ever wanted to find more information on government spending? Have you ever wondered where federal contracting dollars and gra... more -
'Recycle' Waste Energy
"For every three units of fuel — like coal, natural gas or oil — that are burned to make electricity, two are lost in the process, most of it as waste heat that just drifts away, says [Tom] Casten, who is chairman of Recycled Energy Development, a company that works with industrial clients to capture waste heat to produce clean electricity."
"With rising fuel prices taking a bigger bite out of the profits of the nation's manufacturers, Casten says many of them could save a lot of money, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by capturing that waste heat and recycling it to produce power.
'There are many industrial processes that emit high-temperature exhaust," he explains. "You can use that high-temperature energy to boil water, make steam, and drive an electric generator.'"
"That's according to Casten, and the comparison shows that with the clamor to go green and use solar and wind power, there's vast potential in energy recycling that is available right now. Energy recycling saves ArcelorMittal tens of millions of dollars a year in energy costs, and the company says it reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3 million tons a year."
"This type of energy recycling is commonplace in Northern Europe and Japan (it's one of the reasons ArcelorMittal is actively utilizing the technology in its U.S. plants). Denmark generates close to 55 percent of its electricity this way. In the Netherlands and Finland, the figure is closer to 40 percent, and in Germany it is 35 percent. But in the U.S., energy recycling accounts for just 8 percent of the nation's electrical power, according to the U.S. Department of Energy."
"So why isn't it done more often here?"
David Schaper, National Public Radio "For every three units of fuel — like coal, natural gas or oil — that are burned to make electricity, two are lost in the process... more -
Missiles & Mortgages: How the Government Spends Your Tax Dollars (An Oversimpl...
Just a fun video explaining how your tax dollars are spent. It's a serious oversimplification but still illustrates the priorities nicely. Plus, the song is awesome so you can at least bob your head!
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Video By Max Joseph, Erin Bosworth, Ariel Schulman
Music By Tom Van Buskirk
Good Magazine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivs 2.5 License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ Just a fun video explaining how your tax dollars are spent. It's a serious oversimplification but still illustrates the prioriti... more -
Political Porkers
"A government watchdog group released its annual report Wednesday on Congressional pork barrel spending.
Some of the biggest pork projects, according to the group, include a Lobster Institute; the Rocky Flats, Colorado, Cold War Museum; and the First Tee, a program to build young people's character through golf.
Members of Congress requested funds for all these pet projects and thousands of others last year, according to the latest copy of the annual "Pig Book" released by Citizens Against Government Waste.
"Congress stuffed 11,610 projects" worth $17.2 billion into a dozen spending bills, the group said in the report released Wednesday.
The "Pig Book" names dozens of what the citizens group considers the most egregious porkers, the lawmakers who funnel money to projects on their home turf. Interactive: Pork barrel spending " "A government watchdog group released its annual report Wednesday on Congressional pork barrel spending. ... more -
The Iraq war is senseless and selfish
The government should be paying money and attention to the war and focus on more important things.
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Bush Vetoes Spending
Sounds very "republican" and "fiscally responsible", right? Well, sure, if you don't value health or education.
Apparently Bush has likened Congress to a teenager with a credit card. He's one to talk - he's like a 6 year old boy, playing war with the nation's young and with our credit card, spending 1.6 trillion on the war.
Sigh. Sounds very "republican" and "fiscally responsible", right? Well, sure, if you don't value health or educati... more -
Flat Tax is Better
Our government isn't using the money for what they say it's for.
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