Ridiculous Things from State Congress:
HB 1491: Designating the apple as the official snack food of this Commonwealth
HR 349: Designating the week of June 21 through 27, 2009, as "Rubbernecking Awareness Week" in Pennsylvania.
Ridiculous things from Federal Congress:
H. CON. RES. 404: Supporting the goals and ideals of Complaint Free Wednesday
On a more serious note:
S.1318 : A bill to prohibit the use of stimulus funds for signage indicating that a project is being carried out using those funds.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
It has been previously proposed that I go digging for the bad things. That I’m searching for negative things to report. From this condemnation, I must say, you are right. I do go digging, but not necessarily to find something wrong. I’m looking for information, just most of what turns up is obscure, or you have to look up three more things to make sense of a single sentence.
For instance, I receive reports from several federal level departments that show me exactly how they’re spending their stimulus money. Let me preface this by saying one of those areas is the Department of Homeland Security, in which I have an obvious vested interest, though skeptically approach when it comes to funding.
Today, after receiving another spreadsheet of their funding streams, I would like to share the general information that is posted here regarding the projects and programs that are funded from America’s tax dollars through ARRA.
***begin direct quote***
St. Elizabeths/DHS Headquarters Consolidation:
$650 million ($200 million to DHS; $450 million to GSA)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP):
$720 million for construction at land ports of entry ($300 million GSA; $420 million CBP)
$100 million for Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology
$100 million for border technology on the southwest border
$60 million for tactical communications equipment and radios
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
$20 million for ICE automation modernization and tactical communications
Transportation Security Administration:
$1 billion for explosives detection systems and checkpoint screening equipment
U.S. Coast Guard:
$142 million for Alteration of Bridges program
$98 million for construction, which may include the following:
Shore facilities and aids to navigation facilities
Vessel repair/acquisition (includes High Endurance Cutter, National Security Cutter)
Federal Emergency Management Agency:
$100 million for Emergency Food and Shelter Program
$150 million for transit and rail security grants
$150 million for port security grants, no non-federal match required
$210 million for Assistance to Firefighter (AFG) grants for firehouse construction; maximum grant is $15.0M
$5 million expansion in authority for FEMA Community Disaster Loans
Requires the establishment of an arbitration panel to resolve Katrina/Rita public assistance disputes
Requires FEMA to accept additional applications for Katrina/Rita public assistance
All non-federal matching requirements for SAFER grants waived for FY 2009-2010
DHS Office of Inspector General:
$5 million to conduct related oversight and audits
***end direct quote***
Now, if you’re not so great in math skills like me, you’re looking at that and going, ‘holy crap, that’s a lot of money’. Yes, friends, it is. According to this data alone, $3,510,000,000 of stimulus money has gone to DHS. That’s a lot of zeroes. This is humorous, considering the recovery website currently lists the Department of Homeland Security as receiving $503,396,000 total, while it has only paid out $19,095,000 (Learn more here).
Funnily enough, the government doesn’t exactly post these sorts of things front and center on the main page of recovery.gov. I don’t get it. We’re making leaps and bounds in protecting American citizens! This is great! And, honestly, I would support every security effort we made through these programs if the money did not come from an act that was said to be an “unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, save and create millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century”. Though this does fall vaguely under ‘long-neglected challenges’, I challenge those working on this ‘transparency’ effort to show Americans where their money is going in direct and clear comparison, then listen to the response from individuals about the balance going on.
Many of the plans for recovery look similar to this: http://www.dol.gov/recovery/word/DepartmentOfLabor(Agency)RecoveryActPlan.doc
That is the Department of Labor’s Recovery Act Plan in its most basic form. These plans are than broken down into program specific plans, some of which actually include a dollar amount. Honestly, until I have to, I don’t want to go in and weed out the dollar amounts. If you care to, go ahead.
From the recovery.gov site, it is suggested that the DOL will receive $20,036,754,000. Now, for kicks and giggles, I calculated the percentage of error from DHS and applied it to the numbers listed for DOL. This in no way reflects any available information; it is based on a lack of an exact count of dollars being spent for the DOL through ARRA and therefore I’m having fun with numbers. This calculation turns out to be (ready?) $22,549,942,784.91. So, assuming the discrepancies in numbers follow similar patterns throughout the departments as DHS, we as American could end up paying billions more than what was originally projected. Just a thought for the future.
For instance, I receive reports from several federal level departments that show me exactly how they’re spending their stimulus money. Let me preface this by saying one of those areas is the Department of Homeland Security, in which I have an obvious vested interest, though skeptically approach when it comes to funding.
Today, after receiving another spreadsheet of their funding streams, I would like to share the general information that is posted here regarding the projects and programs that are funded from America’s tax dollars through ARRA.
***begin direct quote***
St. Elizabeths/DHS Headquarters Consolidation:
$650 million ($200 million to DHS; $450 million to GSA)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP):
$720 million for construction at land ports of entry ($300 million GSA; $420 million CBP)
$100 million for Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology
$100 million for border technology on the southwest border
$60 million for tactical communications equipment and radios
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
$20 million for ICE automation modernization and tactical communications
Transportation Security Administration:
$1 billion for explosives detection systems and checkpoint screening equipment
U.S. Coast Guard:
$142 million for Alteration of Bridges program
$98 million for construction, which may include the following:
Shore facilities and aids to navigation facilities
Vessel repair/acquisition (includes High Endurance Cutter, National Security Cutter)
Federal Emergency Management Agency:
$100 million for Emergency Food and Shelter Program
$150 million for transit and rail security grants
$150 million for port security grants, no non-federal match required
$210 million for Assistance to Firefighter (AFG) grants for firehouse construction; maximum grant is $15.0M
$5 million expansion in authority for FEMA Community Disaster Loans
Requires the establishment of an arbitration panel to resolve Katrina/Rita public assistance disputes
Requires FEMA to accept additional applications for Katrina/Rita public assistance
All non-federal matching requirements for SAFER grants waived for FY 2009-2010
DHS Office of Inspector General:
$5 million to conduct related oversight and audits
***end direct quote***
Now, if you’re not so great in math skills like me, you’re looking at that and going, ‘holy crap, that’s a lot of money’. Yes, friends, it is. According to this data alone, $3,510,000,000 of stimulus money has gone to DHS. That’s a lot of zeroes. This is humorous, considering the recovery website currently lists the Department of Homeland Security as receiving $503,396,000 total, while it has only paid out $19,095,000 (Learn more here).
Funnily enough, the government doesn’t exactly post these sorts of things front and center on the main page of recovery.gov. I don’t get it. We’re making leaps and bounds in protecting American citizens! This is great! And, honestly, I would support every security effort we made through these programs if the money did not come from an act that was said to be an “unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, save and create millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century”. Though this does fall vaguely under ‘long-neglected challenges’, I challenge those working on this ‘transparency’ effort to show Americans where their money is going in direct and clear comparison, then listen to the response from individuals about the balance going on.
Many of the plans for recovery look similar to this: http://www.dol.gov/recovery/word/DepartmentOfLabor(Agency)RecoveryActPlan.doc
That is the Department of Labor’s Recovery Act Plan in its most basic form. These plans are than broken down into program specific plans, some of which actually include a dollar amount. Honestly, until I have to, I don’t want to go in and weed out the dollar amounts. If you care to, go ahead.
From the recovery.gov site, it is suggested that the DOL will receive $20,036,754,000. Now, for kicks and giggles, I calculated the percentage of error from DHS and applied it to the numbers listed for DOL. This in no way reflects any available information; it is based on a lack of an exact count of dollars being spent for the DOL through ARRA and therefore I’m having fun with numbers. This calculation turns out to be (ready?) $22,549,942,784.91. So, assuming the discrepancies in numbers follow similar patterns throughout the departments as DHS, we as American could end up paying billions more than what was originally projected. Just a thought for the future.
The fact that we need this bill is sad. That people would take advantage of another person’s pain and the death of a loved one is despicable. It’s heartless.
For those of you who don’t feel like reading the bill, it states that no person may use the “portrait of picture of a deceased soldier for the purpose of advertising for the sale of any goods, wares or merchandise or for the solicitation of patronage for any business”. At first I thought these statements were a little over the top, but I can actually see someone doing that, especially when this bill is taken in conjunction with Atlas Shrugged, a current undertaking of massive proportions for me.
And, by the way, I’m tired of people telling government officials to take pay cuts to close the funding gaps. I understand that higher ups always look like the bad guys, and people always hear about how Congress passes bills that give them a raise, but honestly, they need to make money too. In reflection, what in the world is this bill for?? “An Act prohibiting Commonwealth agencies from paying bonuses to employees; and imposing penalties”? Are you kidding me? This means, that unlike the rest of the working world, state employees cannot receive bonuses on top of being poorly paid for the work they do in the first place. State level government is the middle man in the three (fed-state-local) and often gets overlooked, but never the less does important work that impacts people’s daily lives. And now no bonuses? No “Good job, Jim. Go take yourself for a steak dinner”? How about your CEOs take pay cuts for once instead of coming on hands and knees, expecting and assuming that the government will help you out again? Where did the sense of not only fiscal responsibility but fiscal appreciation go? Should not people be appropriately compensated for the work they produce?
Oh, and just in case people were wondering, House Bill 1371 for the state prohibits the mutilation of female genitalia. Not that I’m entirely concerned about someone cutting parts of me off, right now I’m a little more focused on the issue at hand: this transparency we were promised.
Watching competitive funds come across my desk everyday makes me sick. I see what these funds are going towards. I’m watching the federal money get spent and think, rather selfishly, that none of this is going to work. I can’t tell you what I’m seeing since I signed something that said I wouldn’t, but I can tell you to look. Open up your eyes. The resources are there, and they’re available to the public. This isn’t going to take just one person reading, there needs to be action on the part of many people. I do not disagree with some of the measures had they been taken in a more financially stable time, but I present the argument that this is not viable, the ARRA. This is an urban focused package, but one that will not have impact in the correct areas. As of today, 835 million dollars has been granted to the DoD. I understand these funds are needed but this is NOT the place they should be coming from. Also, when looking at the general break down at where the money is going, initially people look and see 288 billion going towards “tax relief”. Oh, how fantastic! But, wait. What’s that little star there? “Includes $15 B for Infrastructure and Science, $61 B for Protecting the Vulnerable, $25 B for Education and Training and $22 B for Energy, so total funds are $126 B for Infrastructure and Science, $142 B for Protecting the Vulnerable, $78 B for Education and Training, and $65 B for Energy.” So wait – 126 billion dollars of that is going towards science and infrastructure – essentially research grants. And 78 billion is going towards energy, which will supposedly create jobs, but primarily also focuses on research and facility development. I don’t argue that these things could be beneficial in the long run, but I object to where this money is coming from. This is my money, my future children’s taxes, my mother’s and grandmother’s income they are taking this out of for something that was promised to help the economy and those people struggling because of it. I have no direct say in what is happening, I can do very little in how this all plays out. But I’m going to make people aware of what’s going on in front of their faces and behind their backs.
Interested? Check out these sites:
Recovery.gov is a direct source for federal level information regarding the ARRA.
Be sure to also look at your local recovery sites (For PA, click here). Many larger counties/cities/municipalities are also creating pages for themselves, so keep an eye out for your local ones. (For example, Allegheny County’s is located here.)
Each department has their own Recovery Act site, and I won’t list them here. It’s easy enough: just go to the dept’s website and search for ‘recovery act’. If you don’t know the department website, Google it. One of the most interesting ones to read is the Department of Homeland Security’s, which you can view by clicking here. Notice you can also subscribe to receive e-mail updates by department and by category when information on the web page changes. Stay ahead of the curve and sign up.
Legislation for is available directly to your inbox when you subscribe through the state legislation box. In order to look at federal legislation, check out Thomas.gov. A copy of the stimulus bill is also available right at the top of the website if you want to look it over.
For the fiscally interested, check out Grants.gov, you can search for recovery grants under the advanced search so you can see where the money is going.
Give this a read. It’s important to keep in mind that this is one of the goals of the current administration, and something we need to hold them accountable for.
When reading anything on any of these websites, click on the links in the text. Don’t ignore them. The good information is often ten or twelve clicks away, and cannot be easily found just by typing in things in the search box. Also, don’t forget what you’re looking for. The words are can be promising, but hold no real meaning. Keep looking until you find what it is you’ve been wondering. If it’s not there, ask. E-mail. Call. There are laws out there now allowing you to get the information as long as it’s within security reasoning and available.
BE CURIOUS.
For those of you who don’t feel like reading the bill, it states that no person may use the “portrait of picture of a deceased soldier for the purpose of advertising for the sale of any goods, wares or merchandise or for the solicitation of patronage for any business”. At first I thought these statements were a little over the top, but I can actually see someone doing that, especially when this bill is taken in conjunction with Atlas Shrugged, a current undertaking of massive proportions for me.
And, by the way, I’m tired of people telling government officials to take pay cuts to close the funding gaps. I understand that higher ups always look like the bad guys, and people always hear about how Congress passes bills that give them a raise, but honestly, they need to make money too. In reflection, what in the world is this bill for?? “An Act prohibiting Commonwealth agencies from paying bonuses to employees; and imposing penalties”? Are you kidding me? This means, that unlike the rest of the working world, state employees cannot receive bonuses on top of being poorly paid for the work they do in the first place. State level government is the middle man in the three (fed-state-local) and often gets overlooked, but never the less does important work that impacts people’s daily lives. And now no bonuses? No “Good job, Jim. Go take yourself for a steak dinner”? How about your CEOs take pay cuts for once instead of coming on hands and knees, expecting and assuming that the government will help you out again? Where did the sense of not only fiscal responsibility but fiscal appreciation go? Should not people be appropriately compensated for the work they produce?
Oh, and just in case people were wondering, House Bill 1371 for the state prohibits the mutilation of female genitalia. Not that I’m entirely concerned about someone cutting parts of me off, right now I’m a little more focused on the issue at hand: this transparency we were promised.
Watching competitive funds come across my desk everyday makes me sick. I see what these funds are going towards. I’m watching the federal money get spent and think, rather selfishly, that none of this is going to work. I can’t tell you what I’m seeing since I signed something that said I wouldn’t, but I can tell you to look. Open up your eyes. The resources are there, and they’re available to the public. This isn’t going to take just one person reading, there needs to be action on the part of many people. I do not disagree with some of the measures had they been taken in a more financially stable time, but I present the argument that this is not viable, the ARRA. This is an urban focused package, but one that will not have impact in the correct areas. As of today, 835 million dollars has been granted to the DoD. I understand these funds are needed but this is NOT the place they should be coming from. Also, when looking at the general break down at where the money is going, initially people look and see 288 billion going towards “tax relief”. Oh, how fantastic! But, wait. What’s that little star there? “Includes $15 B for Infrastructure and Science, $61 B for Protecting the Vulnerable, $25 B for Education and Training and $22 B for Energy, so total funds are $126 B for Infrastructure and Science, $142 B for Protecting the Vulnerable, $78 B for Education and Training, and $65 B for Energy.” So wait – 126 billion dollars of that is going towards science and infrastructure – essentially research grants. And 78 billion is going towards energy, which will supposedly create jobs, but primarily also focuses on research and facility development. I don’t argue that these things could be beneficial in the long run, but I object to where this money is coming from. This is my money, my future children’s taxes, my mother’s and grandmother’s income they are taking this out of for something that was promised to help the economy and those people struggling because of it. I have no direct say in what is happening, I can do very little in how this all plays out. But I’m going to make people aware of what’s going on in front of their faces and behind their backs.
Interested? Check out these sites:
Recovery.gov is a direct source for federal level information regarding the ARRA.
Be sure to also look at your local recovery sites (For PA, click here). Many larger counties/cities/municipalities are also creating pages for themselves, so keep an eye out for your local ones. (For example, Allegheny County’s is located here.)
Each department has their own Recovery Act site, and I won’t list them here. It’s easy enough: just go to the dept’s website and search for ‘recovery act’. If you don’t know the department website, Google it. One of the most interesting ones to read is the Department of Homeland Security’s, which you can view by clicking here. Notice you can also subscribe to receive e-mail updates by department and by category when information on the web page changes. Stay ahead of the curve and sign up.
Legislation for is available directly to your inbox when you subscribe through the state legislation box. In order to look at federal legislation, check out Thomas.gov. A copy of the stimulus bill is also available right at the top of the website if you want to look it over.
For the fiscally interested, check out Grants.gov, you can search for recovery grants under the advanced search so you can see where the money is going.
Give this a read. It’s important to keep in mind that this is one of the goals of the current administration, and something we need to hold them accountable for.
When reading anything on any of these websites, click on the links in the text. Don’t ignore them. The good information is often ten or twelve clicks away, and cannot be easily found just by typing in things in the search box. Also, don’t forget what you’re looking for. The words are can be promising, but hold no real meaning. Keep looking until you find what it is you’ve been wondering. If it’s not there, ask. E-mail. Call. There are laws out there now allowing you to get the information as long as it’s within security reasoning and available.
BE CURIOUS.
I am not here to be politically correct, or throw jargon in people’s faces. This page was not created to be funny, profound, or even popular. This is my way of trying to inform people of what I see and deal with everyday, things that I believe should be aware of. Some of these things will be rants and others small, odd points I will have come up with at a point during the day. Mostly, I aim to focus on state and federal legislation, the stimulus package, and political issues, mostly domestic, but sometimes international. Welcome!
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