Stimulus: What got cut

Stimulus: What got cut
Trimmed out of the Obama Stimulus Plan, funds for the Smithsonian, hybrid vehicles and polar icebreakers for the Coast Guard.

Items Cut: (Source CNN Money)

-- $3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill was for $7 billion)

-- $75 million for Smithsonian (original bill was for $150 million)

-- $200 million for Superfund (original bill was for $800 million)

-- $100 million for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (original bill was for $427 million)

-- $100 million for Law enforcement wireless (original bill was for $200 million)

-- $300 million for federal fleet of hybrid vehicles (original bill was for $600 million)

-- $100 million for FBI construction (original bill was for $400 million)

Items Fully Eliminated:

-- $55 million for historic preservation

-- $122 million for new Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters

Obama Needs To Get Outside the Beltway.

(From MOJO Blog Mother Jones)
President Barack Obama needs to get outside the Beltway.
Not necessarily by hopping on Air Force One (which he has yet to use), but by reaching out to the millions of Americans who are rooting for him in order to obtain their active support for his economic stimulus plan. In the first fortnight of his presidency, Obama has mainly played an inside game, as he has tried to win congressional approval of an economic recovery package. When the nearly $900 billion measure was being considered in the House, Obama largely deferred to House Democrats, who shoved many long-yearned-for spending initiatives into the bill. Thus, a 647-page creature was born, which included provisions easy for Republicans and conservatives to deride and oppose.

...
In the past two weeks, Obama and his aides have encountered the typical difficulties of Washington. It's hard to find experienced influence-makers for high-level appointments who are not tainted by the town's K Street culture (Washington's K Street, a canyon of nondescript office buildings a few blocks north of the White House that is to influence-peddling what Wall Street is to finance.) It's tough to score bipartisan points by working with partisans. It's a bitch to ask Capitol Hill machers to change their ways (of appropriating and legislating). It's not easy to control the message when a cacophonous media focus (sometimes rightfully) on missteps and conflict.