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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Stimulus Bill Has $700M for N.M.
By Michael Coleman
Journal Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Shovel ready.
The new term is fast becoming cliché on Capitol Hill, but New Mexico communities hoping for a slice of the $825 billion economic stimulus taking shape in Congress should also learn its meaning.
In other words, make sure those road and school construction proposals are well beyond the drawing board.
"We don't want to fund projects that are not ready to go, because that doesn't get the economy moving," Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., told the Journal. "This entire package is designed to create jobs and to do it as quickly as possible."
New Mexico's U.S. House delegation on Tuesday outlined more than $700 million in federal spending proposed for the state in the stimulus bill. The House is expected to vote on that legislation today. A separate bill — with similar spending levels — is also moving through the Senate, where a vote is expected next week.
Most of the overall money being proposed for New Mexico and other states will be determined by existing federal funding formulas, congressional staffers said this week.
In the House bill, $281 million is slated for New Mexico road and bridge projects. Another $329 million is suggested for K-12 schools, with almost $115 million of that amount designated for renovation and repairs. Clean water projects are penciled in for another $28 million. Public transit projects would get about $24 million. The legislation also includes money to hire teachers and bolster community health care programs, as well as tax credits for an estimated 684,000 working New Mexicans.
But most of the actual spending decisions — such as which road gets resurfaced or which high school gets a new gymnasium — will be determined at the state and local level. And priority will go to those projects that are — as they say — shovel ready. In fact, the House and Senate legislation would require states to forfeit money for certain projects if spending deadlines are not met, often within three months or so.
"All of this will have a very short fuse," a Senate staffer told the Journal on Tuesday. "It's use it or lose it."
In addition to money to be spent through state and local governments, a Senate version of the stimulus package unveiled Tuesday included substantial funding for the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration, the federal agencies responsible for Sandia and Los Alamos national labs.
The Senate plan calls for an additional $1 billion for NNSA nuclear weapons work and more than $6 billion for work at nuclear cleanup sites around the country. Sandia and Los Alamos would be eligible for a portion of that money, but it was unclear Tuesday what the labs' share might be.
President Obama has said the stimulus money needs to be spent on projects that will create jobs and get money moving through the economy as soon as possible.
Not all of the money in the stimulus is being targeted at construction projects.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., on Tuesday convinced the Senate Finance Committee to include in its bill several tax provisions designed to stimulate investment and job creation. One would provide a 30 percent tax credit for the cost of building a new facility for renewable energy production, such as Schott Solar in Albuquerque. Another would offer a 20 percent tax credit to companies performing cutting-edge energy research and development.
"We're trying to (encourage) the creation of private sector jobs," Bingaman told the Journal. "There is a lot of spending that will be public sector, and that will create jobs, as well. But the longest-term benefit comes from creating jobs in the private sector."
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., said New Mexico is in good shape to capitalize on energy-related stimulus projects.
"We've worked hard to create a good environment for renewable energy technology," he said.
Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., said New Mexico's portion of the stimulus — as outlined in the House bill — "is a pretty good deal" and he plans to vote for it today.
"We're at a point in time where we've got to get past (political) party and we've got to get past (expectations of it being) perfect," he said. "We need to create jobs and jump-start our economy because that's what the people elected us for."
Journal science writer John Fleck contributed to this story.
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