Obama’s 2010 Federal Budget

Explained in Plain English

by Rebekah Manning

The US Federal Budget for 2010 was released today, February 26,2009.
Overall, roughly half of spending goes to the US Department of Defense
with the remaining money divided among 22 other

departments. As one of a very small number of Americans who have read

through the 140 page docket outlining the plan, I have analyzed and
detailed it below. Overall, Departments like Agriculture show great detail
while other departments like that of State use broad language and
provide few clues into what programs will actually receive the billions.
Unsurprisingly the National Intelligence Agency has no details about
either total budget nor allocation.

2009 Federal Budget Breakdown

Overall, close to half of the federal budget goes to the Department of
Defense. When the funds from the Recovery Act are added in, The
Department of Education is allocated a vast amount of money to help
improve public school and increase access to higher education. The
Department of Transportation also see a great deal of money for
programs that will improve air traffic control and create an efficient and
green fast interstate rail system.
To better understand the allotment of funds, the following
chart shows the distribution of capital in the 2010 Federal
budget.
Department of Education -
$46.7billion+$81.1billion from Recovery Act
Obama’s commitment to bettering the US educational system can be
seen through the $81.1 billion he dedicates to education in the Recovery
Act as well as the $46.7 billion in the 2010 federal budget. He wants to
strengthen public schools, reward effective teaching and expand
opportunities for higher education.

Department of Education Budget Highlights Innovative

Solutions
• Expand access to high quality early childhood education – no monetary
value given
• Funds education research – no monetary value given
• Increase funding for charter schools – no monetary value given

College Access and Completion

• Access and Completion Incentive Fund, which supports state efforts that
help low-income students finish college - $2.5 billion over 5 years
• Increase mximum Pell Awards - $5,500 as new maximum
• American Opportunity Tax Credit made permanent - $2500 per credit

Department of Defense - $663.7 billion+$7.4 billion from

the Recovery Act
The Department of Defense receives the lion’s share of the Federal
Budget to be used both internally and externally. $533.7 billion is
requested for specific programs with another $50-100 billion earmarked
should the Department of Defense need it. The budget will cover the
draw down of US troops from Iraq, the aid of struggling states like
Pakistan and the funding of programs that help to monitor cyber,
biological and nuclear threats. Overall, a large amount of funds are not
detailed
Major Budget Allocations for the Department of Defense
Military Operations
• Military Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan - $130 billion
• Money that currently has no allocation but is budgeted should the
Department of Defense need it - $50 billion Soldiers
• Pay for service members that will keep pace with or exceed private sector
jobs – exact amount not provided
• Expansion of military retired pay and Veterans Disability Compensation to
all retirees receiving disability retired pay – exact amount not provided
• Expansion on integrated mental health professionals with deployed unites
– amount not provided
• Improved medical care and housing for Wounded, Ill and Injured
Servicemembers – amount not provided
• Quality of life improvements for American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and
Marines include modernization of barracks – amount not provided

Department of Health and Human Services -

$76.8billion+$22.44billion from the Recovery Act
We all know that the US health care system is broken. Obama’s 2010
budget attempts to lay the groundwork for a full scale American health
care reform. Major points in his plan are: aligning incentives towards
quality health care, promoting efficiency and accountability, encouraging
shared responsibility. Obama also sets up a $630 billion 10year reserve
fund to help finance the reform. Interesting provisions include several
billion dollars to improve Alaskan Natives health care.
Highlights from the Department of Health and Human Services
Budget More Effective Health Care
• Increase health care providers in certain areas - $330 million
• Increase resources to detect, prevents and treat HIV/AIDs domestically –
no monetary value stated

Funding for Research

• Support and eventually double cancer research withing the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) - $6 billion
• Increase funding for research into cause and treatments for Autism
Spectrum Disorders - $211 million

Support for Families and Youth

• Additional funds for the President’s Zero to Five plan which provides
health care to children in need - $1.1 billion
• Expand the Head Start program - $1 billion
• Expand the Child Care and Development Block Grant - $2 billion
• Help low-income families heat and cool their homes - $3.2 billion

Department of Veteran Affairs - $55.9 billion + $1.4 billion

from the Recovery Act
Over the next 5 years, Obama plans on increasing funding for the
Department of Veterans Affairs by $25 billion. Unfortunately the budget
does not focus on the exact details of where this $25 billion will go. The
budget focuses on increasing high-quality health care for veterans, the
developments of Centers for Excellence and increased access to mental
and cognitive health care. It also provides for a pilot program with non
profit organization to help veterans avoid homelessness.
Major Department of Veterans Budget Expenditures Increased
Funding and Benefit Expansion
• General expansion of services and budget increases - $25billion increase
over 5 years
• Restoration on health care eligibility for modest income veterans – no
amount provided
• Enhanced outreach and services related to mental health and cognitive
injuries for veterans – no amount provided
• Supports quick implementation of comprehensive education benefits - no
amount provided
• Supports effective implementation of post-9/11 GI Bill – no amount
provided

Department of State and Other International Programs

The United States needs to renew its leadership role in the world. The
2010 budget for the Department of State and Other International
Programs aims to increase foreign aid to help education children in some
of the poorest nations, increase global food supply and security, and
stabilize post-conflict areas. The budge also includes an increase in
funding for global health programs and non-military assistance to
Afghanistan and Pakistan. No exact numbers are given in the budget as to
where the money will go. There is a very large discretionary budget.
Plan highlights Foreign Policy Goals
• Increase funding for global health programs that combat HIV/AIDs,
malaria and TB – no specific amount given
• Funding the first year of a multi year counterterrorism and law
enforcement program – no specific amount given
• Promotion of safe civilian uses of nuclear energy – no specific amount
given

International Support
• Expansion of diplomatic and development ties by increasing the number
of state and USAID Foreign services officers – no specific amount given

What Today’s Federal Budget Proposal Means

for Children
Posted by admin

Over the next few weeks Vote Kids will be providing a detailed analysis of the new
federal budget proposed by President Obama today. If enacted, the budget would
continue and expand many significant investments in children.
On taxes, the President would:
• Continue to cut taxes for the families of millions of children through an
expansion and continuation of the Child Tax Credit.
• Make the $2500 American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent to help
kids afford college.
On investments in children, the President proposes:
• Making a down payment on the President’s “Zero to Five” plan -
providing $1.1 billion to double the number of children served by Early Head
Start over two years, an additional $1 billion to expand and improve Head
Start, and an additional $2 billion in funding for the Child Care and
Development Block Grant. The Budget sustains critical support for young
children and their families by building on these investments.
• Creating the Nurse Home Visitation program, which will provide funds to
states to provide home visits by trained nurses to first-time low-income
mothers and mothers-to-be.
• Expanding Pell Grants and putting the program on sounder footing.
 • Rewarding excellent teachers by making additional investments in state
and local efforts to implement systems that reward quality performance and
help less effective teachers improve or exit the classroom.
• Increasing health care coverage for children. An expansion to the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was just enacted in law and will
provide coverage for an additional four million children on average in CHIP and
Medicaid who are now uninsured. The budget proposal will implement this law
quickly and aggressively to help families whose children are at risk of losing
coverage in this weak economy.
• Strengthening nutrition assistance. The budget supports a strong Child
Nutrition and WIC reauthorization package that will ensure that low-income
children receive the nutrition assistance they need and help end childhood
hunger by 2015.
• Responding to the needs of low-income Americans. This includes a
temporary increase in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
formerly Food Stamps, to help strengthen the food purchasing power of low-
income families during these tough economic times. The budget also provides
additional resources for food banks and community-based food providers.
• Preventing teen pregnancy. The Budget supports State, community-based,
and faith-based efforts to reduce teen pregnancy using evidence based
models.
• Providing energy assistance to low-income families. The Budget
provides $3.2 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) to help low-income families with their home heating and cooling
expenses. In addition, the Budget includes a new trigger mechanism to provide
automatic increases in energy assistance whenever there is a spike in energy
costs.
• Increasing funding for the Project-Based Rental Assistance Program.
This will preserve approximately 1.3 million affordable rental units through
increased funding for contracts with owners of multifamily properties. This
critical investment will assist low- and very low-income households in obtaining
decent, safe and sanitary housing in private accommodations.
• Providing greater support for effective charter schools.
• Putting 50,000 more cops on the street. Using COPS Hiring Grants, this
will support the hiring of police nationwide to help states and communities
prevent the growth of crime during the economic downturn.
• Expanding national service. The Budget makes a substantial investment in
National Service, giving more individuals the opportunity to make an intensive
commitment to giving back to their communities. The Budget would set
AmeriCorps on a path to expand from its current 75,000 funded slots to
250,000, and would ensure the availability of service opportunities to achieve
demonstrable results. The budget also will provide additional resources for
Learn and Serve America, which supports programs in schools, higher
education institutions and community-based organizations that engage
students, their teachers, and others in service-learning.
•
Vote Kids strongly supports this budget and will work to ensure its
passage with strong investments in America’s children. Keep coming back
to find out what you can do to make these
Pasted from <http://www.votekids.org/?p=1140>