Stimulus(?) Package: "This Bill Stinks! [Lindsey Graham (R) South Carolina]
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You can read the rest of this article by going to Fox News here.'Sacred Cows' Threaten to Derail Compromise on Stimulus Bill
Some senators fear that pet projects are threatening the effort to reach a compromise on a streamlined bill that will pass
The price tag of President Obama's stimulus bill has grown to more than $900 billion now that the legislation is in the Senate's hands, and some senators fear that pet projects are threatening the effort to reach a compromise on a streamlined bill that will pass.
"There are a lot of sacred cows running around right now," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who is working at a furious pace with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine to craft an amendment that would have the effect of removing tens of millions of dollars in programs, or "sacred cows," from bill — programs that they say do not create jobs or stimulate the economy.
The two have formed a bipartisan group to figure out just what can be axed, a group that now numbers into the double digits on both sides of the aisle, according to both members.
"Sacred cows" is Nelson's polite phrase for earmark-like projects, sacred to members, like $400 million for sexually transmitted disease prevention, $350 million for computers at the USDA, $14 million for cyber security and millions for NASA research.
"They're good programs, but they just don't belong, in our opinion, in a stimulus package," Nelson told FOX News, saying that, instead, members should look to the next spending bill in the pipeline, an omnibus appropriations bill that funds federal agencies for 2009, a measure that was postponed from last year.
Nelson and Collins are conducting some serious shuttle diplomacy, running back and forth to meetings, as they try to finish their product in time for a Friday vote. Nelson took time out from a major Democratic policy conference Wednesday to brief a small group of Republicans on what could come out of the bill and to get their input.
Categories: Stimulus Package, Obama stimulus package, Deficit Spending, Federal Spending
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