Stimulus Package and TARP Termination Bills in Congress
S. 3689 is the first stimulus package introduced from what I can tell. www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=… it also includes $$$$ to the automakers, but no specified amount. It appears to come from the TARP funds.
The Republican alternative is HR 7306. The discussion here as I see it is if we continue to work against the bailout and support HR 7306 or if we support S. 3689. I support ending the bailout but want to see the allocations defined that would result from the termination of the bailout. HR 7306 is not at that point yet in the process.
Greens need to engage decisively on behalf of one package over the other and come to some realistic perspective of what our maximized role can be. There are obviously upsides and downsides to both bills. Our visibility needs to be more relevant as the recession deepens. It is not the time to stand on the sidelines and critique everyone and everything without speciic alternatives.
Martin Zehr
GPCA
Sponsor: Rep. Louis Gohmert R-TX H.R. 7306: To immediately terminate the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury under the…To immediately terminate the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to purchase troubled assets and to make a portion of the unused funding for such program available to meet critical infrastructure needs in the United States.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE Peter R. Orszag, DirectorU.S. CongressWashington, DC 20515 November 18, 2008
Honorable Robert C. Byrd ChairmanCommittee on AppropriationsUnited States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has reviewed S. 3689, the EconomicRecovery Act of 2008, as introduced on November 17, 2008.
CBO estimatesthat enacting this legislation would provide $89.3 billion in budget authority and result in outlays totaling $50.4 billion in 2009 and $88.4 billion over the2009-2018 period—excluding potential additional costs for automobile industry assistance under title VI of the bill. (CBO cannot estimate the netincremental cost of enacting title VI at this time.) In addition, CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting this bill would resultin a loss of revenues totaling $10.9 billion over the 2009-2018 period (see theenclosed table). Components of that total cost are described below.
Title I – Infrastructure, Energy, and Economic Recovery Title I includes funding for highways and other transportation, energyprograms, school renovation, clean water, and a variety of other federalprograms, and would provide budget authority totaling $37.4 billion in 2009and $39.8 billion over 10 years. CBO estimates that outlays from that fundingwould total about $10.6 billion in 2009 and about $39.0 billion over the 2009-2018 period. The largest single appropriation in title I is $10.0 billion for highwayconstruction. In addition, the title includes $3.6 billion for other transportation cbo.gov
Honorable Robert C. ByrdPage 2 activities such as transit programs. Most federally funded infrastructureprojects take years to plan and construct, and a substantial portion ofrelated spending occurs well after funding is provided. For example, historicalspending patterns indicate that about a quarter of the funds provided forhighways are spent in the first year. Typically, transit projects initially usefunding slowly, spending about 15 percent of available funds in the yearmoney is first provided. Since the bill would eliminate the usual requirementsthat states provide funds to match the federal contribution and because sometransit funds can be used for operating rather than capital expenses, CBOestimates that these funds would be spent slightly faster than typicalinfrastructure projects funded by Department of Transportation. We estimatethat outlays for those transportation programs would total about $3.8 billionin 2009, $5.7 billion in 2010, and $13.6 billion over the 2009-2018 period.
Title II – Nutrition Programs for Economic Stimulus
Title III – State Fiscal Relief
Title IV – Unemployment Compensation
Title V – National Park Centennial Fund Act
Title VI – Automotive Industry Assistance This table does not include potential net costs under title VI, which would require the Secretary of the Treasury to use existing fundsfor the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to provide $25 billion in direct loans to automobile manufacturers and componentsuppliers. CBO estimates that those loans would cost the government $17.5 billion. Because those loans would probably replaceother uses of TARP funds, which are uncertain at this time, CBO cannot provide a specific estimate of the incremental net cost ofsuch loans. www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=…
