The Congress has passed a $787 billion economicstimulus plan Friday(2/13).
The House voted 246 to 183 for the measure, with no Republicans in favor and seven Democrats in opposition.
Its centerpiece is a $400 payroll tax cut for individuals and $800 for couples. Retirees, disabled veterans and others who don’t pay payroll taxes would get a $250 payment.
The 1,400-page stimulus plan would provide a half-trillion dollars for jobless benefits, renewable energy projects, highway construction, food stamps, broadband, Pell college tuition grants, high-speed rail projects and scores of other programs. It would raise the nation’s debt limit to about $12 trillion.
Billions of dollars will flow over the next two years to expand unemployment benefits, help cash-strapped states avoid cuts in education and health care for the poor, and for job-creating investments in scientific research, green technologies and road construction, among other things.
The plan would pump $185 billion into the economy this year and $399 billion next year, the agency said.
Before the Congress 838 billion stimulus plan version show the detail of spending:The stimulus plans adopted by both chambers of Congress have some notable differences but also overlap considerably. Both aim to stimulate employment, certain critical economic sectors, and U.S. consumer spending. The House measure calls for spending roughly $544 billion on new projects and about $275 billion in tax cuts. The following are areas with some of the most significant outlays:
*
Energy, including $32 billion to transform the U.S. energy grid to make it more efficient; $16 billion to repair public housing and make it more energy efficient; and $6 billion to weatherize low-income homes;
*
Science and technology, including $10 billion for new scientific facilities and $6 billion to improve broadband Internet access in rural areas;
*
Infrastructure, including $30 billion for highways; $31 billion to modernize federal buildings and other public infrastructure; $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and other environmental investments; and $10 billion to improve public transit and rail infrastructure;
*Education, including $41 billion for local school districts, $79 billion in outlays to states to prevent educational service cutbacks; $15.6 billion to broaden the federal Pell Grant program, which gives need-based grants to fund education; and $6 billion to modernize higher education programs; and
*Health care, including $87 billion for Medicaid; $20 billion to improve health information technology; and around $4 billion to improve preventative care.
The plan also includes $140 billion directed toward tax cuts of $500 per worker or $1,000 per family over two years; expanded tax credits for working poor with children; and a $2,500 college tuition credit.
source:
Council on Foreign Relations.
bloomberg.
WSJ
-figure.jpg)
