Does the stimulus bill really include money for golf carts?
Yes, indirectly. But more troubling to some opponents of the Senate-passed $838 billion package are the big-ticket spending items like $50 billion allocated for the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program aimed at innovative energy technologies, including nuclear reactors and clean coal.
Critics of the funding say the government has yet to spend $40 million it already has budgeted for the program and that the loans are risky and lack oversight.
But its supporters include both Republican and Democratic senators who are eager to back spending aimed at reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Democrats in the Senate were even willing to include Republican-favored nuclear
energy.
This bipartisan support helps ensure the provision will remain in the final bill, even though it does not exist in the House-passed legislation.
Critics say the Energy Department does not have enough staff to review and process loan applications or track the use of the money.
“Why are we coddling these industries with these very generous loan guarantees instead of them going out into the private sector?” asked Steve Ellis, a spokesman for the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. Ellis said the private sector has been unwilling to fund these projects because they have not been financially successful.
Under the program, the government would have to cover up to 100 percent of the loan and up to 80 percent of the energy project if a company defaults, which exposes taxpayers to significant risk.
Senators on Tuesday acknowledged the potential faults in the provision, but were willing to support it nonetheless.
“I’m a big proponent of nuclear power,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she tried unsuccessfully to reduce the amount allocated to the loan program.
“The policy is good, but the execution is what I want to pay attention to and stay on top of,” McCaskill said.
There has been much more Senate debate on a $300 million provision for green modes of transportation — including “neighborhood electric vehicles,” otherwise known as golf carts.
