February 02, 2010|By Paul West | Paul West,paul.west@baltsun.com
Doug Siglin, federal affairs director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, called the increases a "significant" commitment of new federal spending for the bay when "times are tough."
Obama is proposing to increase the size of the federal work force by several hundred thousand in the next few years, building on recent increases at the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. Much of the beefed-up staffing would be in offices that monitor federal acquisitions and other routine transactions, in an effort to cut down on fraud.
A spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley said the Democrat was "thankful" for the president's additional funding for state Medicaid programs. Obama is asking Congress to extend the current emergency aid to the states through June 2011.
Republican Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett of Frederick, in a statement, said he would have preferred a more tightfisted approach. But he added that "proposing a little bit of budget restraint in the future is better than the dangerously bloated and unsustainable budget that the president and the Democratic congressional majority approved last year."
White House fact sheets, tailored to each state, promoted the supposed benefits of the president's budget, while carefully avoiding mention of cuts, spending freezes or proposals for user fees or higher taxes that would pinch many Americans.
The administration touted Obama's proposed extension of a stimulus tax-cut, which it said would help 2.1 million Maryland families. There was no mention of Obama's proposed tax increase on families earning at least $250,000, or how many in Maryland that might affect.
More details of the president's spending plan will be released in coming days and weeks, including programs, such as Army Corps of Engineers harbor dredging, that have direct impact on Baltimore and the state.
Obama is proposing to eliminate six agricultural research projects, totaling $3 million, in Beltsville, but includes $13 million for new research at the facility.
The president's 2011 budget, which attempts to start reining in the growth of federal spending, reflects a different political reality. With elections looming, the president chose to limit some of the fights that he, and his predecessors, have picked with Congress.
Last year, for example, Obama tried to save $400 million by eliminating the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which subsidizes state and local governments for the cost of jailing illegal immigrants accused of committing crimes. Two years ago, when Republican President George W. Bush tried to end the program, key Democrats, including Mikulski and Rep. C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger of Baltimore County fought him; they avoided openly criticizing Obama, but the program survived.
The president's 2010 budget criticized the Justice Department program, which can be used for "extraneous items and services," including bonuses and consultants.
The money could be better spent protecting the borders and quickly deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the U.S., White House officials said last year.
But the program survived Obama's effort to kill it. This time, he is asking Congress to spend $330 million on it, with the proviso that reimbursements for state and local governments be limited to the actual cost of housing illegal immigrants and other detainees.
Maryland impact
Federal education aid: $717.2 million
Infrastructure aid: $982.5 million for roads, airports, water and sewer
Federal housing assistance: $646.7 million
Pell Grants : Increase in maximum by $360 to $5,710 per student, with available funding of $416.2 million
National Security Agency at Fort Meade: $219.36 million for utility plant construction
Food and Drug Administration: $164.5 million for continued consolidation at White Oak
Washington Metro subway and bus system: $150 million for operations
Aberdeen Proving Ground: $119.6 million for construction of new chemical defense, medical and auto tech facilities
Martin State Airport: $11.4 million for new Air National Guard operations and medical facility
Fort Detrick : $63.1 million for multiple facilities construction
Bethesda Naval Hospital: $80 million for parking expansion and transient Wounded Warrior housing
Fort Meade: $32.6 million for indoor firing range and wideband satellite communications operations center
Patuxent River Naval Air Systems Command: $42 million for broad area maritime surveillance training facility
Sources: President's 2011 budget; Maryland congressional offices; Office of Management and Budget.
The budget at a glance
The $3.834 trillion spending plan also includes:
* The elimination of some capital gains taxes, along with tax breaks for oil, gas and coal companies.
* A $3 billion increase in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for public school funding, raising the total to $28 billion, plus $1.35 billion more for the Race to the Top program for schools to increase student performance.
* $17 billion for Pell Grant funding for college aid.
* $100 billion for investments in small-business tax cuts, infrastructure and clean energy, all designed to create jobs. This includes a new "small business jobs and wages tax cut" to spur small-business hiring and wage increases, at a cost of $33 billion.
* A deficit of $1.56 trillion, more than this year's record of $1.35 trillion. More on deficit's impact, Pg 6
