Shovels Ready? At Ease!

We can't get at the precise final language of the House and Senate compromise on the stimilus package, but while there is lots of money in it - in various places - for higher education, the dollars intended for "shovel ready" renovation and upgrading projects seems to have turned into something like a handful of snowflakes in July: Some general dollars given to state governors to do with as they wish, without a restriction saying that they can't use them for upgrading facilities. One anonymous SCUPer writes to us:

Amazing as it is that the President, House of Representatives and a majority (albeit a simple majority) in the Senate wanted to fund nearly $16 billion for school construction, this stimulus opportunity was collapsed into the state stabilization funding *an increase of $6.6 billion in lieu of K12 funding and an increase of $3.4 billion to states in lieu of the higher ed facility funding. But the school districts will have to fight with the states over whether or not it gets spent on school construction, because there is no mandate to spend it in this way.

Few of the SCUPers we have spoken with today believe that much of those dollars will do anything but help governors do a slightly better job of balancing their budgets. Whether any of the dollars end up in facilities renovation depends pretty much on whatever system is currently in place within each state, and many governors have already shown their readiness to cut off building projects to move dollars elsewhere.

As one SCUPer commented this morning, "There's something in there (or not) to make just about anyone angry."

House Passes Stimulus Bill; Now for the Great Senate Debate

The Christian Science Monitor, which by the way is now a Web-only newspaper, often does a good job of covering issues in ways that other periodicals might not, so we often look for information there. This article by Gail Russell Chaddock takes a look at the forhtcoming Senate debate:

With the biggest spending bill in American history on the line, the US Senate is gearing up for a debate for the ages.

With Republicans at 41 in the 100-member Senate – precisely the number they need to block legislation with a filibuster – Democrats could muscle the bill over the line by breaking off just one or two Republican votes.

Instead, President Obama is putting on a full-court press for a bigger, bipartisan vote to signal change in Washington. That means a more open process, including a full debate.

“I hope I communicated a sincere desire to get good ideas from everybody,” said Mr. Obama, after meeting separately with House and Senate Republicans on Tuesday.

“My attitude is, this is the first major piece of legislation we’ve worked on and that over time, some of these habits of consultation and mutual respect will take over, but old habits die hard.”

In contrast to the House, where Republicans complain that the $819 billion economic recovery package has been drafted without their input, the Senate is ramping up for a more open process. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed on Wednesday by a vote of 244 to 188, with no Republican support. Eight Democrats voted with 177 Republicans to oppose the bill.

Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education

Sam Dillon wrote this article for The New York Times, which also has a special "Times Topics" Web section on the stimulus package.

The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nation’s school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Education’s current budget.

The proposed emergency expenditures on nearly every realm of education, including school renovation, special education, Head Start and grants to needy college students, would amount to the largest increase in federal aid since Washington began to spend significantly on education after World War II.

HR1 - The Stimulus Package - Download the Whole Thing

You can download a PDF of the House Bill 1 (the stimulus package) here (PDF). The higher education portion begins on page 180 and is section 9302, "Higher Education Modernization, Renovation, and Repair."