Thursday, January 29, 2009

Stimulated?

Interested in the stimulus just passed by the House? check it out here: readthestimulus.org

Okay, so I've only made it through the first 150 pages so far--500 more to go. But in the meantime, some preliminary points of interest:

- p. 12, lines 1-5: "Section 1109. Prohibited Uses. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may by used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool." Seriously, no zoos?

- p. 14, lines 1-9: "Section 1112. Additional Assurance of Appropriate Use of Funds. None of the funds provided by this Act may be made available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the State, unless (1) the use of such funds by the State is approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date of the enactment of this Act, or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois." Of course Blago found a way to get himself immortalized.

- All plans for use of the funds will be accessible to public viewing at Recovery.gov, a site to be set up and maintained by the newly named Accountability and Transparency Board for the bill.

- $18,500,000,000 for energy efficiency and renewable energy!!!

So far, so good, imho.

2 comments:

Tim Zajac said...

When I saw the list of website sponsors I grew worried, but this concept is really cool and useful. I'll start reading backwards from the end and meet you in the middle, okay?

AGW said...

Exactly. I think the Republicans are wrong to oppose this legislation, but absolutely right in saying we are responsible for knowing what it dictates. In my mind that's part-and-parcel with Obama's insistence on overseeing the thing properly with some sense of accountability.