HR 1: Spreadsheet Breakdown of Division A

Politics

I got tired of politically-loaded summaries of what is in HR 1, the stimulus bill as it passed in the House. Everyone knows they "ought" to read it, but few seem willing to actually do it. (The best version unfortunately resists permalinking: Go here, select "House Bills 1-100", then the first house bill.)

Let me help you out. I still have not read the whole thing, and at 800+KB of text I don't feel too bad. But I did spend four hours last night on the bill.

I will stay non-political in this post, until ofter the end. I ask that you bear with me through some political observation, because after spending four hours with legalese I feel I'm entitled to a bit of commentary.

The bill is organized into two Divisions. Division A seems to primarily be about appropriations, and consists of approximately one third of the bill by textual volume, and by my unskilled calculation, about one third of the reported cost. Division B appears to be a massive rewrite of the tax code. Both sections of the bill contain significant modifications to other law, and I have not had the time to follow the (numerous) references through, but it is clear just looking at some of them that they are major changes. Nobody is understating how big this bill is; I daresay everybody is understating it, because a straight description sounds hyperbolic.

I have broken the appropriations into a spreadsheet, which is available as an HTML table in the main body of this post, or as an Open Office Calc file or a Comma Separated Values file. (In both cases you may have to right-click and "Save Link As..." to save it.) The table below is in the same order it appears in the bill; with a spreadsheet you can reorder it, of course.

I haven't even begun to analyze the tax code because I am not competent to analyze tax implications. Also, unlike the appropriations which are mostly either new law, or simply increases in funding for old law (though not entirely), the tax section primarily consists of significant rewrites of older law, making the exact implications difficult to tease apart even if you were intimately familiar with existing tax code and who pays what taxes. I've considered trying to write a summary, but I don't think I can even do that, whereas I might be able to pull it off with reasonable accuracy for Division A.

Notes: This table is a simplification. Some funds have time limits in which they must be claimed; I assumed that our government will find a way to spend everything allocated. Some allocations say things like "1 billion to go to X, provided at least 200 million are spent on Y and 400 million are spent on Z." Sometimes it says "no more than". In those cases, I assumed that the number in the bill is what will actually be spent, and I tried to ensure that the total added correctly; hopefully I've not double-counted anything. In general, I tried to use the summaries the bill itself gives for the description. In cases where there was no clean English summary, only a reference to another bill, I give the reference. I've tried to note what is a "loan" in the description, so note that you really can't just add up the $Millions column for a net expenditure total unless you assume 100% default on the loans; this is in fact why I have not tried to include a "total" of any kind. The "type" is my summation, if you're doing your own analysis you may want to fiddle, as categorization is always hard. The "Reference" is where in the bill I got the number, broken down by Division, Title, and Subtitle or Section if applicable. I don't use the "real" legal categorization because I don't know it and I'd just get it wrong anyhow, probably; that shouldn't disqualify a citizen from reading and trying to understand the bill.

In all cases, the bill is of course the final statement.

Description$MillionsTypeReference
Department of Agriculture – Inspector General22.5OversightA.1107
Department of Commerce – Inspector General10OversightA.1107
Department of Defense – Inspector General 15OversightA.1107
Department of Education – Inspector General14OversightA.1107
Department of Energy – Inspector General15OversightA.1107
Department of Health and Human Services – Inspector General19OversightA.1107
Department of Homeland Security – Inspector General2OversightA.1107
Department of Housing and Urban Development – Inspector General15OversightA.1107
Department of the Interior – Inspector General15OversightA.1107
Department of Justice – Inspector General2OversightA.1107
Department of Labor – Inspector General6OversightA.1107
Department of Transportation – Inspector General20OversightA.1107
Department of Veterans Affairs – Inspector General1OversightA.1107
Environmental Protection Agency – Inspector General20OversightA.1107
General Services Administration – Inspector General15OversightA.1107
National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Inspector General2OversightA.1107
National Science Foundation – Inspector General2OversightA.1107
Small Business Administration – Inspector General10OversightA.1107
Social Security Administration – Inspector General2OversightA.1107
Corporation for National and Community Service – Inspector General1OversightA.1107
Government Accountability Office – Salaries and Expenses25OversightA.1108
Accountability and Transparency Board14OversightA.1230
Agricultural Buildings and Facilities and Rental Payments44AgricultureA.Title 2
Agricultural Buildings and Facilities209AgricultureA.Title 2
Farm Service Agency Salaries and Expenses to Modernize IT245AgricultureA.Title 2
Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations350AgricultureA.Title 2
Watershed Rehabilitation Program50AgricultureA.Title 2
Rural Community Facilities Direct Loans1,102Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans2,000Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Water and Waste Disposal Loans2,736Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Community Facilities loans1,800Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Community Facilities under 206(a) of Consolidate Farm and Rural Development Act137Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Guaranteed Loans87Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Business Enterprise Grants under 310B of Consolidate Farm and Rural Development Act13Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Water and Waste Disposal Direct Loans400Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Water and Waste Disposal Grants1,100Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Housing Insurance – Section 502 Borrowers – Direct Loans4,018Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Housing Insurance – Section 502 Borrowers – Unsubsidized Guaranteed Loans18,111Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Housing Insurance – Section 502 Borrowers – Direct Loans (B)270Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Rural Housing Insurance – Section 502 Borrowers – Unsubsidized Guaranteed Loans (B)230Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Secretary of Agriculture Oversight1.75OversightA.Title 2
Rural Broadband Loans and Grants2,825Rural DevelopmentA.Title 2
Supplemental Nutrition Program from Child Nutrition Act100NutritionA.Title 2
Emergency Food Assistance Program – Commodity Purchase100NutritionA.Title 2
Emergency Food Assistance Program – Distribution50NutritionA.Title 2
Administrative Cost of Increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits (benefits not shown) – 2009150NutritionA.Title 2
Administrative Cost of Increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits (benefits not shown) – 2010150NutritionA.Title 2
Economic Development Assistance Programs250CommerceA.Title 3.A
Additional Funds for Census1,000CommerceA.Title 3.A
Salaries and Expenses for National Telecommunications and Information Administration350CommerceA.Title 3.A
Wireless Deployment Grants1,000CommerceA.Title 3.A
Broadband Deployment Grants1,825CommerceA.Title 3.A
Digital-to-analog Converter Box Program650CommerceA.Title 3.A
National Institute of Standards and Technology Scientific and Technical Research and Services100CommerceA.Title 3.A
Technology Innovation Program expenses70CommerceA.Title 3.A
Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership expenses30CommerceA.Title 3.A
Construction of Research Facilities300CommerceA.Title 3.A
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Operations, Research, and Facilities, for habitat restoration and migration activities400CommerceA.Title 3.A
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction600CommerceA.Title 3.A
State and Local Law Enforcement Grants3,000JusticeA.Title 3.B
Community Oriented Policing Services1,000JusticeA.Title 3.B
NASA – Earth science climate research250ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Other Science150ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Aeronautics150ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Cross Agency Support Programs (disaster relief)50ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Research (Major Research Instrumentation)300ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Academic Research Facilities Modernization200ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Research (General)2,000ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Educational and Human Resources100ScienceA.Title 3.C
NASA – Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction400ScienceA.Title 3.C
Army Operation and Maintenance1,491DefenseA.Title 4
Navy Operation and Maintenance624DefenseA.Title 4
Marine Operation and Maintenance129DefenseA.Title 4
Air Force Operation and Maintenance1,237DefenseA.Title 4
Defense Health Program455DefenseA.Title 4
Army Reserve Operation and Maintenance111DefenseA.Title 4
Navy Reserve Operation and Maintenance62DefenseA.Title 4
Marine Corps Reserve Operation and Maintenance45DefenseA.Title 4
Air Force Reserver Operations and Maintenance15DefenseA.Title 4
Army National Guard303DefenseA.Title 4
Air National Guard29DefenseA.Title 4
Military Energy Research350DefenseA.Title 4
Corp of Engineers – Construction2,000Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Corp of Engineers – Mississippi River and Tributaries250Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Corp of Engineers – Operation and Maintenance2,225Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Regulatory Program25Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Bureau of Reclamation – Water and Related Resources500Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (detailed breakdown in A.Title 5)18,500Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability4,500Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Advanced Battery Loan Guarantee Program1,000Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Institutional Loan Guarantee Program under section 399A of (42 U.S.C. 6371h-1)500Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies2,400Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Department of Energy – Science2,000Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Defense Environmental Cleanup500Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Western Area Power Administration loans3,250Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Bonneville Power Administration loans3,250Energy and WaterA.Title 5
Federal Building Energy Conservation6,000GovernmentA.Title 6.A
Federal Buildings Fund1,700GovernmentA.Title 6.A
Energy Efficient Federal Motor Fleet Procurement600GovernmentA.Title 6.A
Small Business Loans426Small BusinessA.Title 6.B
US Customs and Border Protection Salaries and Expenses for non-intrusive detection tech at sea ports100Homeland SecurityA.Title 7
Homeland Security Construction150Homeland SecurityA.Title 7
Transportation Security Administration – Aviation Security500Homeland SecurityA.Title 7
Coast Guard – Alteration of Bridges150Homeland SecurityA.Title 7
Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Food and Shelter200Homeland SecurityA.Title 7
Department of the Interior Bureau of Land management – Construction325InteriorA.Title 8
Fish and Wildlife Service – Construction300InteriorA.Title 8
National Park – Construction1,700InteriorA.Title 8
National Park Centennial Challenge Signature Projects100InteriorA.Title 8
United States Geological Survey – Surveys, Investigations, and Research200InteriorA.Title 8
Bureau of Indian Affairs – Construction – Schools and Detention Centers250InteriorA.Title 8
Bureau of Indian Affairs – Construction – General250InteriorA.Title 8
EPA – Hazardous Substance Superfund800InteriorA.Title 8
EPA – Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program200InteriorA.Title 8
EPA – Clean Water State Revolving Funds6,000InteriorA.Title 8
EPA – Drinking Water State Revolving Funds2,000InteriorA.Title 8
EPA – A.Title VII, SubA.Title G of Energy Policy Act of 2005 grants300InteriorA.Title 8
EPA – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act section 104(k)100InteriorA.Title 8
Forest Service Capital Improvement and maintenance650InteriorA.Title 8
Wildland Fire Management850InteriorA.Title 8
Indian Health Facilities550InteriorA.Title 8
Smithsonian Facilities Capital150InteriorA.Title 8
National Endowment for the Arts Grants and Administration50InteriorA.Title 8
Department of Labor – Training and Employment Services (breakdown in A.Title 9.A)4,000LaborA.Title 9.A
Community Service Employment for Older Americans120LaborA.Title 9.A
State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations500LaborA.Title 9.A
Department of Labor Departmental Management80LaborA.Title 9.A
Department of Labor – Office of Job Corps300LaborA.Title 9.A
Health Resources and Services (breakdown in A.Title 9.B)2,188HealthA.Title 9.B
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention462HealthA.Title 9.B
National Institute of Health – National Center for Research Resources1,500HealthA.Title 9.B
Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Director1,500HealthA.Title 9.B
National Institute of Health Bethesda, MD campus and other locations500HealthA.Title 9.B
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality700HealthA.Title 9.B
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (additional)400HealthA.Title 9.B
Low-income Home Energy Assistance1,000HealthA.Title 9.B
Payments to States for Child Care and Development Block Grant2,000HealthA.Title 9.B
Child and Family Services – Head Start Act1,000HealthA.Title 9.B
Child and Family Services – Early Head Start programs1,100HealthA.Title 9.B
Community Services Block Grant1,000HealthA.Title 9.B
Section 1110 of the Social Security Act100HealthA.Title 9.B
Administration on Aging – Aging Services Programs200HealthA.Title 9.B
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology2,000HealthA.Title 9.B
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to support research430HealthA.Title 9.B
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund – prepare for Influeza pandemic420HealthA.Title 9.B
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund – improve IT50HealthA.Title 9.B
Prevention and Wellness Fund (breakdown in A.Title 9.B)3,000HealthA.Title 9.B
Education for the Disadvantaged (breakdown in A.Title 9.C)13,000EducationA.Title 9.C
Section 8007 of A.Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Impact Aid100EducationA.Title 9.C
School Improvement Programs1,066EducationA.Title 9.C
School Innovation and Improvement225EducationA.Title 9.C
Special Education13,600EducationA.Title 9.C
Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research700EducationA.Title 9.C
Student Financial Assistance for Higher Education16,126EducationA.Title 9.C
Student Aid Administration50EducationA.Title 9.C
Higher Education (part A of A.Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965)100EducationA.Title 9.C
Institute of Education Sciences for section 208 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act250EducationA.Title 9.C
School Modernization, Renovation, and Repair14,000EducationA.Title 9.C
Higher Education Modernization, Renovation, and Repair6,000EducationA.Title 9.C
Mandatory Pell Grants Increase643EducationA.Title 9.C
Mandatory Pell Grants Increase (b)831EducationA.Title 9.C
Corporation for National and Community Service – Operation Expenses160SocialA.Title 9.D
National Service Trust40SocialA.Title 9.D
Social Security Administration – National Computer Center400SocialA.Title 9.D
Social Security Administration – Processing Disability and Retirement Workloads500SocialA.Title 9.D
Army Training and Recruit Troop Housing600MilitaryA.Title 10
Army Permanent Party Troop Housing220MilitaryA.Title 10
Army Child Development Centers100MilitaryA.Title 10
Navy and Marines – Housing170MilitaryA.Title 10
Navy and Marines – Child Development Centers180MilitaryA.Title 10
Air Force – Housing200MilitaryA.Title 10
Air Force – Child Development Centers80MilitaryA.Title 10
Military Construction, Defense-Wide3,750MilitaryA.Title 10
Army National Guard Construction140MilitaryA.Title 10
Air National Guard Construction70MilitaryA.Title 10
Army Reserve Construction100MilitaryA.Title 10
Navy Reserve Construction60MilitaryA.Title 10
Department of Defense Base Closure Account Deposit300MilitaryA.Title 10
Veterans Health Administration Medical Facilities950MilitaryA.Title 10
National Cemetary Administration Monument and Memorial Repairs50MilitaryA.Title 10
Department of State – Backup Information Management Facility120StateA.Title 11
Department of State – Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative99StateA.Title 11
Department of State – Remainder of “Capital Investment Fund”57StateA.Title 11
International Boundary and Water Commission Construction224StateA.Title 11
Department of Transportation – Grants-in-Aid for Airports3,000TransportationA.Title 12
Highway Infrastructure Investment (breakdown in A.Title 12)30,000TransportationA.Title 12
Capital Assistance for Intercity Passenger Rail Service300TransportationA.Title 12
Capital and Debt Service Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)800TransportationA.Title 12
Transit Capital Assistance Grants (breakdown in A.Title 12)6,000TransportationA.Title 12
Fixed Guideway Infrastructure Investment2,000TransportationA.Title 12
Department of Transportation Capital Investment Grants1,000TransportationA.Title 12
Public and Indian Housing Capital Fund (breakdown in A.Title 12)5,000Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Elderly, Disabled, and Section 8 Assisted Housing Energy retrofit2,500Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Native American Housing Block Grants500Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Community Development Fund under A.Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 19741,000Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Neighborhood Stabilization Activities related to abandoned and foreclosed homes4,190Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
HOME Investment Partnerships Program1,500Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program10Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Homeless Assistance Grants1,500Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Lead Hazard Reduction100Housing and Urban DevelopmentA.Title 12
Department of Education – State Fiscal Stabilization Fund 200939,500State Fiscal FundA.Title 13
Department of Education – State Fiscal Stabilization Fund 201039,500State Fiscal FundA.Title 13

So, my political commentary. While this contains a bit of political judgment, I feel it is justified very strongly by the facts.

If the term "stimulus bill" is to mean anything, it must mean something like "a bill that consists mainly of provisions that some well-respected and tested economic model indicates will have a net short-term stimulating effect on the economy without excessive harm done to the long-term health of the economy". You can fiddle and quibble with that definition, but it won't matter, because this is not a stimulus bill. It's not even close. It contains a stimulus bill in it, but people's estimates of it being at most 10% of the bill are fairly accurate. There is no current economic theory that says this bill will be a "stimulus".

Keynesian economic theory is being used as a cover, but along with the fact it has been seriously modified and reconsidered since the ancient version the politicians have glommed on to (and is hardly non-controversial even in the updated form), even old-school Keynesian economics had specific proscriptions on what government money should be spent on to obtain the ideal multiplier. I can't seem to find a really clear description of what that is online, but whatever specifics it may be, it seems clear this bill isn't it. This bill just spends on everything. This isn't Keynesian economics; this is borrow-and-spend at its nakedest.

I believe this statement to be descriptive, not political; the politicization comes from trying to dodge this simple truth. If you can find a clear and well-accepted definition of "stimulus" from an economist (not a politician!) that this bill meets, then I am wrong, but I don't think you can. (Note that I don't just mean "find an economist vaguely approving of the bill in the news last week"; I mean, start with the definition of "good stimulus", preferably one clearly stated before 2008 so you know it's not just targeted at this bill, and see if more than 10% of this bill fits. Good luck.)

If this bill isn't actually "stimulus", what is it? It is the Democratic Agenda for 2009. Congress could just go home after they pass this thing. Just look at all that stuff up there. Under the guise of "stimulus", this is a massive power and money grab by our Congress. Perhaps you approve of this massive money and power grab, but that's still what it is.

Oh... and that's still just one third of the bill. I can't cover the tax stuff.

Secondly: Some people, including myself, have wondered why this bill contains everything and the kitchen sink like this, when Democrats control the Presidency, the House, have near total control of the Senate (and a plausible plan to obtain that), and little to fear from the Supreme Court (not because they control it but because the Court has no effective authority over this bill). Why jam this all into one bill when they can sail anything they want through the government? One not-entirely-cynical possibility lies in the fact that near the beginning of the bill, the entire bill is declared as Emergency Spending for the purposes of the Pay-Go act. By putting their agenda into a bill excluded from Pay-Go, they can meet the letter of the law while not merely violating the spirit, but entirely discarding it.

And finally, I'll leave on an amused tone: Did you catch the "Child Development Centers" for the military? My favorite expenditure, I think.