2010 Omnibus Spending Bill

The 2010 omnibus spending bill combines six major appropriations bills that fund several departments including Commerce, Justice, State, Veterans Affairs, and Transportation. Here are the highlights:

Spending on Federal Departments: $447 billion
Spending on Entitlements: Approximately $600 billion
Total Price Tag: $1.1 trillion.

The bill increases federal spending on agencies by approximately 10-12% on average despite the near 0% inflation rate. Some of the agencies receiving these increases are listed below:

Congressional Office allowances increased by 8.4%.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) budget increased by 120%
Corporation for National and Community Service (mostly Americorps) budget increased by 30%.
Transportation Security Administration budget increased by 20%.
National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities budgets each increased by 8.1%.
Amtrak’s budget increased by 9%.

The omnibus bill contains over 5,000 earmarks, which total nearly $4 billion in spending. Some of the more ridiculous earmarks are listed here:

$800,000 for jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York.
$750,000 for exhibits at the World Food Prize Hall in Iowa.
$3.4 million for a rural bus system in Hawaii.
$8 million for improvements to four rural airports in Mississippi (offered by Republicans).
$2.7 million for the University of Nebraska Medical Center to support surgical operations in space.
$500,000 for Mississippi River exhibits at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa.
$400,000 for renovation of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
$700,000 for a project called, “Shrimp Industry Fishing Effort Research Continuation,” at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Silver Spring, Md.
$1.6 million for a tram between the Marshall Flight Center and Huntsville Botanical Garden in Alabama.

The bill also contains provisions to allow the detainees at Guantanamo Bay to be transferred to the United States to stand trial, and to allow guns to be included in checked baggage on Amtrak trains.