Good Idea or Bad Idea?

The Real Cost of the Compromise!

The bipartisan team of Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are responsible for trimming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act up to $86 billion in programs.

Are these cuts truly bipartisan? How will these cuts in programs and policies effect the American people?

Political Animal finds that cutting state aid from the stimulus bill is a very bad idea.

These cuts specifically targeted $40 billion in proposed aid to states. The consequences of this mean drastic cuts -- which in turn make the effects of the recession worse...The result, as the LAT noted, will be massive layoffs at the state level and huge cutbacks in services: "Parks will close. Environmental programs will be scaled back. Bus and ferry routes will shut down, possibly sending more drivers onto clogged streets and highways. Schools may go without school nurses, and classes may become more crowded. Sick people who rely on state health programs may instead getsicker."

Christy Hardin Smith questions whether "children be the losers in this publicly played out farce? "

CQ reflects on the differences between the House and Senate bills regarding education and school programs.

Another major difference between the House and Senate bills involves school construction. The House allocated $14 billion to renovate, repair and build public schools. The Senate zeroed out the $16 billion its original bill set aside for that purpose.

The compromise also eliminates $3.5 billion for higher education facility modernization and purchase of instructional equipment. The House voted to provide $6 billion for higher education.

The compromise would cut additional funding for Head Start and Early Head Start, programs to prepare children to succeed in school, from $2.1 billion to 1.05 billion. That’s half of the $2.1 billion in the House bill.

The reduction in funds for healthcare is also noted:

The Senate substitute eliminates $5.8 billion in the original measure that would have been spent on grants and contracts to prevent illness through health screenings, education, immunization, nutrition counseling, media campaigns and other activities. The House has set aside $3 billion for prevention and wellness.

Funds to expand the use of electronic record keeping in health care are cut from $5 billion to $3 billion in the substitute, still more than the $2 billion in the House plan. Under the new Senate plan, a national coordinator would distribute the money to pay for technology, planning and training.

The compromise eliminates funding for pandemic flu preparedness, a prominent target of critics who said figuring out how to increase the supply of vaccine would not create jobs. The House bill includes $900 million for flu, and the original Senate proposal had $870 million.

It is true that the Senate's stimulus plan does bring money to education, health services, local governments. However, these changes fromm the House bill seem to cut at the heart of the problem.