Obama stimulus packages could help UA, colleges across nation
James Baker
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: News
The final voting on President Obama's stimulus package, which could provide funding for UA projects, was expected late Thursday as Senators debated over the usefulness and complexity of several aspects of the unprecedented $900 billion plan.
Billions are at stake for everything from road projects to increasing the reach of the Internet to all corners of the U.S. as the recession doesn't stand to complete the process of bottoming out and stabilizing until later this year.
"This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education," President Obama said in a Thursday editorial in The Washington Post that sought public and Senate approval.
The stimulus plan has been criticized by Senate Republicans for its enormity, with estimates of the plan running at $887 billion.
A third of the stimulus would go toward tax cuts, while nearly $550 billion would go toward infrastructure, education, health care aid and benefits, energy, science and technology, and housing.
Some Republicans have called for changes that would shed spending in some areas while homing in on the collapsed housing industry, which started the chain reaction that brought on the recession in December 2007. Tax cuts are also a top priority for Republicans.
"Nobody that I know of is trying to keep a package from passing," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "We're trying to reform it."
The Gallup poll released Tuesday showed that while 75 percent of Americans support a stimulus package, the majority of supporters want major changes to the current proposal or its rejection. Only 38 percent want the plan "passed as proposed."
Critics have said the plan is temporarily harmful and harmful in the long run because of the vast nature of the bill.
Senators from both sides of the political spectrum have said the legislation needs amending and trimming, though the plan is now running at $60 billion more than the stimulus bill passed by the House last week.
Billions are at stake for everything from road projects to increasing the reach of the Internet to all corners of the U.S. as the recession doesn't stand to complete the process of bottoming out and stabilizing until later this year.
"This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education," President Obama said in a Thursday editorial in The Washington Post that sought public and Senate approval.
The stimulus plan has been criticized by Senate Republicans for its enormity, with estimates of the plan running at $887 billion.
A third of the stimulus would go toward tax cuts, while nearly $550 billion would go toward infrastructure, education, health care aid and benefits, energy, science and technology, and housing.
Some Republicans have called for changes that would shed spending in some areas while homing in on the collapsed housing industry, which started the chain reaction that brought on the recession in December 2007. Tax cuts are also a top priority for Republicans.
"Nobody that I know of is trying to keep a package from passing," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "We're trying to reform it."
The Gallup poll released Tuesday showed that while 75 percent of Americans support a stimulus package, the majority of supporters want major changes to the current proposal or its rejection. Only 38 percent want the plan "passed as proposed."
Critics have said the plan is temporarily harmful and harmful in the long run because of the vast nature of the bill.
Senators from both sides of the political spectrum have said the legislation needs amending and trimming, though the plan is now running at $60 billion more than the stimulus bill passed by the House last week.
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