Emergency Post!!! A Compromise Stimulus???

Word is that republican Senators Arlen Specter, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe will cross over to vote with the democrats in a compromise bill that is still at $780 Billion!!!(update may actually be more like $830 Billion give or take) Ohh what a compromise...that was a VERY Generous compromise. 42% Tax cuts and 58% new spending. But we don't know what what the cuts are and what the spending is. If you still oppose this stimulus contact these senators and let them know. They are announcing this on Friday night since America isn't paying attention over the weekend. They will likely vote on it before the weekend is up.

This is the link to the congressional budget office's assessment of the bill that passed the house.
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9968/hr1.pdf
To sum it up, it basically says that the money that goes to the states for programs and infrastructure will not be realized immediately due to the time it takes to plan, solicit bids, enter into contracts, and conduct regulatory review. Also some business/work is seasonal in nature ie schools do repairs in the summer when school is out, and road work is generally not done in winter in many parts of the country. Brand new programs require planning, developing procedures, criteria, regulations, etc. "Throughout the federal government, spending for new programs has frequently been slower than expected and rarely been faster."

"CBO expects that many of the larger projects initiated with funds provided by H.R. 1 would take up to five to seven years to complete." If it's not spent immediately, how is this stimulating the economy?

One final thing to note, but you should go check it out.

"CBO estimates that the costs to the private sector of complying with H.R. 1's new
requirements and conditions would likely exceed the annual threshold established in
UMRA for private-sector mandates ($139 million in 2009, adjusted annually for
inflation)."

Just because they don't represent your state, doesn't mean you can't write them and let them know your opinion.

http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.EmailIssue&CFID=5075464&CFTOKEN=11385212

http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

For a list of any other senators you might want to contact
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

It's a shame that we have let our senators and representative get away with not representing us. It's time to get involved and take action and contact them in some way shape or form. Next time they are up for reelection, VOTE THEM OUT!!!!