There is enough pork here to feed everybody at the BBQ Shadow is planning.
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$1 billion for Amtrak, which hasn't earned a profit in four decades.
· $2 billion to help subsidize child care.
· $400 million for research into global warming.
· $2.4 billion for projects to demonstrate how carbon greenhouse gas can be safely removed from the atmosphere.
· $650 million for coupons to help consumers convert their TV sets from analog to digital, part of the digital TV conversion.
· $600 million to buy a new fleet of cars for federal employees and government departments.
· $75 million to fund programs to help people quit smoking.
· $21 million to re-sod the National Mall, which suffered heavy use during the Inauguration.
· $2.25 billion for national parks. This item has sparked calls for an investigation, because the chief lobbyist of the National Parks Association is the son of Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wisc. The $2,25 billion is about equal to the National Park Service's entire annual budget. The Washington Times reports it is a threefold increase over what was originally proposed for parks in the stimulus bill. Obey is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
· $335 million for treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
· $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts.
$4.19 billion to stave off foreclosures via the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The bill allows nonprofits to compete with cities and states for $3.44 billion of the money, which means a substantial amount of it will be captured by ACORN, the controversial activist group currently under federal investigation for vote fraud. Another $750 million would be exclusively reserved for nonprofits such as ACORN - meaning cities and states are barred from receiving that money. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., charges the money could appear to be a "payoff" for the partisan political activities community groups in the last election cycle.
· $44 million to renovate the headquarters building of the Agriculture Department.
· $32 billion for a "smart electricity grid to minimize waste.
· $87 billion of Medicaid funds, to aid states.
· $53.4 billion for science facilities, high speed Internet, and miscellaneous energy and environmental programs.
· $13 billion to repair and weatherize public housing, help the homeless, repair foreclosed homes.
· $20 billion for quicker depreciation and write-offs for equipment.
· $10.3 billion for tax credits to help families defray the cost of college tuition.
· $20 billion over five years for an expanded food stamp program.
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