President Obama's Economic Stimulus and Energy Plan

President Obama has a comprehensive plan to invest in alternative and renewable energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, address the global climate crisis, and create millions of new jobs. The Energy & Environment agenda posted on www.whitehouse.gov is reproduced below:

Provide Short-Term Relief to American Families

• Crack down on excessive energy speculation
• Swap oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to cut prices

Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela Within 10 Years

• Increase fuel economy standards
• Get one million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015
• Create a new $7,000 tax credit for purchasing advanced vehicles
• Establish a national low carbon fuel standard
• Follow a “use it or lose it” approach to existing oil and gas leases
• Promote the responsible domestic production of oil and natural gas

Create Millions of New Green Jobs

• Ensure 10% of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25% by 2025
• Deploy the cheapest, cleanest, fastest energy source—energy efficiency
• Weatherize one million homes annually
• Develop and deploy clean coal technology
• Prioritize the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline

Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80% by 2050

• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050
• Make the U.S. a leader on climate change

House Version

The first step in resourcing this agenda was an $820 billion Democratic stimulus package titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 (H.R.1) which was sponsored by House Appropriations Committee Chairman, David Obey of Wisconsin. A full House vote on January 28, 2009 resulted in passage of the bill by a vote of 244 to 188. The bill proposed $550 billion in spending programs and $275 billion in temporary tax cuts.

Senate Version

The Senate Appropriations version (S.336) was approved by a 61 to 27 Senate vote. It was reported to be a $357 billion investment plan comprised of Infrastructure and Science ($142 billion), Education and Training ($125 billion), Energy ($49 billion), Children and Low Income ($25 billion), and Health ($16 billion) expenditures. The Senate Finance Committee passed a tax package that includes $31 billion in tax incentives for renewables and energy efficiency. The Senate total was $838 billion.

Compromise Version

The Congress approved the stimulus bill compromise, with the Senate voting 60-38 to pass the measure after it passed the House of Representatives by a 246-183 margin. The final bill was one of the largest bills in dollar terms ever to be considered by Congress. President Obama signed the compromise version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law on February 17, 2009. House and Senate negotiators settled on a $789 billion package of tax cuts and new federal spending with tax cuts making up about a third of the total expenditure.

Personal Tax Cuts

• Income tax: $400 for most workers and $800 for couples for individuals earning below $75,000 per year and couples earning below $150,000 per year (estimated to be $116 billion over two years)
• Child tax credit: more inclusive $1,000-per-child tax credit that would cover an additional five million children in low income households including those who now qualify for only partial credit ($15 billion)
• Middle-income taxpayers: an exemption from the alternative minimum tax of $46,700 for an individual and $70,950 for a married couple ($69 billion)

Business Tax Cuts

• Business taxes: extend loss write-off against previous years profits from two years to five years for small businesses with annual receipts of less than $15 million ($1 billion)
• Business taxes: facilities producing renewable energy equipment/technologies or making renewable energy property investments may be able to claim a new 30% investment tax credit ($1.7 billion)

Jobless and Health Benefits

• Unemployment benefits: increase unemployment checks by $25 per week ($8.8 billion)
• Medicaid: states would get help with their Medicaid budgets over the next two years ($90 billion)
• Health insurance: 65% subsidy for laid-off workers to continue paying premiums for former employer's health plan for nine months ($25 billion)
• Food stamps: allotments would increase 13%, or about $20 a month ($20 billion)

Education

• Local school districts: funding to make up state shortfalls over two years ($53 billion)
• Higher education: grants for special education programs including funding for 'Title I' education programs for disadvantaged children ($25 billion)

Job-Creation Projects

• Infrastructure: roads and bridges ($29 billion)
• Infrastructure: mass transit and rail ($8.4 billion)
• Information Technology: expanding broadband infrastructure for businesses in rural and underserved communities ($7 billion)
• Education: special education, school construction, and other elementary and high school programs ($10 billion)
• Healthcare: computerizing all medical records in five years ($18 billion)

Energy

• Transmission: build a smart grid that can help link wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources to consumers ($4.4 billion)
• Energy efficiency: energy efficiency grants to states and local governments ($6.3 billion)
• Energy efficiency: make federal buildings more modern and energy efficient ($5.5 billion)
• Energy efficiency: make two million modest income homes more energy efficient ($5 billion)
• Energy efficiency: rebates for consumers who replace old appliances with higher-efficiency ENERGY STAR models ($300 million) 
• Alternative energy: double the production of alternative energy over three years with tax cuts to promote the development of alternatives to oil ($16 billion)
  - $6.5 billion for federal power marketing administrations in electric power transmission systems
  - $4 billion in loan guarantees for standard renewables
  - $2 billion designated for electric vehicle battery research
  - $2 billion tax credit for plug-in electric vehicle conversion
  - $300 million to help state, local governments buy alternative-fuel vehicles
  - $600 million for federal government to swap older vehicles with alternative-fuel ones
• Public housing: repair public housing and retrofit it for energy efficiency ($4 billion)

Program Accountability

A Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board would be created to meet publicly and issue reports to Congress on how the money is being spent. A user-friendly Internet site also would allow people to track the flow of funds.