Early winners and losers from Obama's proposed 2011 budget
By Alec Macgillis
WashPost
Monday, February 1, 2010
With President Obama's budget proposal for the 2011 fiscal year out on the street, we take an early look at some of the winners and losers, in no particular order:
WINNERS
1. K-12 education. Despite the straitened times and his freeze on overall discretionary spending, Obama is increasing federal funding for public education, one of the three main areas of his domestic agenda, alongside energy and health-care reform. The Education Department's proposed budget is up by nearly $3 billion, or more than 6 percent.
2. Research and development. Also preserved is spending on research and development in renewable energy and other areas, which the administration argues is crucial to sustained economic growth. The Energy Department is up nearly $2 billion, or more than 7 percent. The National Science Foundation is up more than 8 percent.
3. State governments. State governments, dreading the winding down of the support they received from last year's economic stimulus package, get a short reprieve -- $25 billion for a six-month extension of the increased federal match for Medicaid costs.
4. Highway and transit contractors. Contractors have been worrying about the infrastructure spending in the 2009 stimulus package starting to wind down, even as the construction industry continues to suffer some of the highest unemployment of any sector. The budget includes $100 billion toward a new "jobs bill," of which additional infrastructure spending will be a major component. The budget also puts toward $4 billion toward a new "National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund," intended to attract private investment to only the most worthy projects.
(More here.)
WashPost
Monday, February 1, 2010
With President Obama's budget proposal for the 2011 fiscal year out on the street, we take an early look at some of the winners and losers, in no particular order:
WINNERS
1. K-12 education. Despite the straitened times and his freeze on overall discretionary spending, Obama is increasing federal funding for public education, one of the three main areas of his domestic agenda, alongside energy and health-care reform. The Education Department's proposed budget is up by nearly $3 billion, or more than 6 percent.
2. Research and development. Also preserved is spending on research and development in renewable energy and other areas, which the administration argues is crucial to sustained economic growth. The Energy Department is up nearly $2 billion, or more than 7 percent. The National Science Foundation is up more than 8 percent.
3. State governments. State governments, dreading the winding down of the support they received from last year's economic stimulus package, get a short reprieve -- $25 billion for a six-month extension of the increased federal match for Medicaid costs.
4. Highway and transit contractors. Contractors have been worrying about the infrastructure spending in the 2009 stimulus package starting to wind down, even as the construction industry continues to suffer some of the highest unemployment of any sector. The budget includes $100 billion toward a new "jobs bill," of which additional infrastructure spending will be a major component. The budget also puts toward $4 billion toward a new "National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund," intended to attract private investment to only the most worthy projects.
(More here.)
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