Wednesday, February 11, 2009

School Modernization Funding Restored In Part

At the urging of House Democrats, the Conference Committee has restored funding of $6 billion for school modernization and repairs to the total $789.5 billion cost of the American Recovery and Reconstruction Act, slated to be voted on in the House tomorrow and in the Senate Friday, and likely to be signed by President Obama as soon as the bill can be enrolled and delivered to the Oval Office. Total appropriation for construction projects of all sorts is $145,632,000,000.00.

The cost figure was held in large part by cutting President Obama's middle class tax cut from $500 per individual or $1,000 per family down to $400 per individual and $800 per family. Other tax measure reductions include elimination of the deductibility of car loan interest, and restrictions on availability of the home purchase tax credit and business loss tax carry backs.

The airwaves will undoubtedly be filled to overflowing for the next two days with analysis and commentary respecting the details of this legislative measure, as well as steamy political rhetoric from the extremes of both parties regarding what they had to give up to get a bill which can pass both houses of Congress. Economists of various stripes will debate ad nauseam whether or not this particular formulation of spending and tax relief will reinvigorate the American economy.

To me, passage of the bill will mean at least this: there is a profit opportunity of $7.25 billion or more out there for businesses in the construction industry which position themselves to take advantage of it.
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