Anti-intellectualism seems to be the order of the day among both Senate and House Republicans. It seems that shovel ready work , or work study, or research jobs, or even adding teachers at Higher Education Institutions are not worthy stimulus activities. Academicians are simply not important to the Republican legislators, perhaps because they point out too often that their ideologies are a fallacy of false premises. So just cut them out, they don't matter.
The Stimulus and Higher Education as seen in the House and Senate Bills today.
(Funds supposedly over and above normal Federal budget expenditures)
Aid for Students
Pell Grants:
House: $15.6 billion to increase maximum grant by $500 and eliminate shortfall
Senate: $13.9 billion to increase maximum grant and close shortfall
(there are more people eligible under Federal rules for the grants than the Feds have funded for several years)
College Work Study
House: $490 million
Senate: Not included
(these are not jobs?)
Perkins Loans
House: Not included
Senate: $61 million for capital contributions
(to banks again?)
Loan Limits
House: Increase limit on unsubsidized loans by $2,000
Senate: Not included
Higher Education Tax Credit
House: Temporarily replace Hope tax credit with $2,500 credit available for four years of college. Credit phases out for individuals with income of $80,000, $160,000 for couples. Credit is 40 percent refundable. Cost: $13.7 billion over 10 years
Senate: Temporarily replace Hope tax credit with $2,500 credit available for four years of college. Credit phases out for individuals with income of $80,000, $160,000 for couples. Credit is 30 percent refundable. Cost: $12.9 billion over 10 years
529 savings plans
House: Not included
Senate: Allow computers to count as qualified expenses under 529 savings plans
Education Aid for States
House: $39 billion for school districts and public colleges, distributed through existing formulas
Senate: $26.7 billion for school districts and public colleges, distributed through existing formulas
House: $25 billion to states for “high priority” needs, “which may include education”
Senate: $9.5 billion to states for “high priority” needs, “which may include education”
Infrastructure
House: College/School Facilities (through Education Department)
$6 billion for “higher education modernization, renovation, repair"; $1.5 billion for grants and loans to colleges, schools, and local governments for energy efficiency
Senate: None (eliminated $3.5 billion to improve technology infrastructure of higher education facilities)
National Institute of Standards and Technology
House: $300 million to construct research buildings at colleges
Senate: Not included
Agricultural Research Service
House: $209 million for facilities
Senate: N/A
Computer centers (at public libraries and community colleges)
House: Not included
Senate: $200 million
Energy Department
House: Not included
Senate: $330 million for laboratory infrastructure
Scientific Research
National Science Foundation
House: $2 billion for research grants, $900 million for equipment and facilities, and $100 million for science education
Senate: $1 billion for research grants (was $1.2 billion), $150 million for infrastructure, $50 million for education
NASA
House: $600 million for climate change and other research
Senate: $450 million for science, specifically earth science missions
National Institutes of Health
House: $1.5 billion for biomedical research, $2 billion for facilities renovation and capacity building
Senate: $100 million (?) for biomedical research (was originally $2.7 billion); $300 million for shared equipment
Energy Department
House: $2 billion for energy efficiency research; $2 billion for basic physical science research
Senate: $100 million for advanced computer R&D
Homeland Security
House: Not included
Senate: $14 million for cybersecurity research
National Institute of Standards and Technology
House: Not included
Senate: $168 million for external grants (was $218 million)
Job Training
House: $4 billion
Senate: $3.4 billion
Preparing health care workers
House: $600 million for training primary care doctors, dentists and nurses
Senate: Not included
Student Aid Administration
House: $50 million to help Education Department administer student aid in changing student loan environment
Senate: Not included
(Hire back all those people needed to make things work who were laid off by Bush)
Help for Lenders
House: $10 million for larger subsidies for lenders
Senate: Not included
(this would be more money directly to Banks)
Arts
House: $50 million for National Endowment for the Arts
Senate: Not included
(I guess them artist don't need jobs)
Source: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/02/07/stimulus
You see if you wanted the stimulus money spent fast, I know for a fact that higher education institutions can spend money faster than damn near any other sector in America.
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