Slow Pace for Infrastructure Stimulus Funds

The White House has distributed less than a third of the nearly $230 billion set aside for big infrastructure projects, prompting criticism from Republicans.

1 minute read

August 16, 2010, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


$182 billion of the $230 billion has been awarded to projects across the country, but only $66 billion has been paid out.

"The administration has said that stimulus spending was always intended to roll out in stages, over two years, and that the pace of outlays for infrastructure would be slower than for parts of the package that provided tax cuts and subsidies for programs such as Medicaid.

White House economist Jared Bernstein, in an Aug. 11 blog post, said that when Republicans call for a halt to stimulus spending, 'they're essentially talking about taking away middle-class tax cuts, leaving unemployed workers unexpectedly high and dry without an unemployment check, halting road and bridge projects and leaving them unfinished, leaving contractors unpaid for the work they've already done and more.'"

Monday, August 16, 2010 in The Wall Street Journal

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