STIMULUS: Little spent so far on energy, environment project

Alex Kaplun, E&E reporter (5/13/2009)

The Obama administration has committed $88 billion from the economic stimulus package in the three months since the law's passage, but little of that has been spent on energy and environment initiatives, according to a White House report released today.

Of more than $1.1 billion the administration has delivered each day since passage of the $787 billion law, most has gone to social programs, the report shows.

In the debate that preceded passage of the law, the White House and congressional Democrats repeatedly touted the measure as a means of jump-starting alternative energy developments and addressing backlogs and underfunding in environmental programs. The package included well over $100 billion for transportation infrastructure and various energy and environmental initiatives.

But the report shows that out of the $88 billion already committed, about $3.6 billion are for Energy Department programs, $1.8 billion for U.S. EPA and $16,000 for the Interior Department.

Under DOE cash committed, the majority, $2.3 billion, has gone for Defense Department environmental cleanups and most of the rest, about $1.1 billion, has gone toward energy efficiency, renewable energy or science research.

Virtually all of EPA's committed money, more than $1.7 billion, has gone toward state and tribal assistance grants.

The Department of Transportation has committed $10.4 billion to roughly 3,000 transportation projection but only a fraction, $34 million, has already been paid out.

The pattern is similar for the various energy- and environment-related agencies. DOE has paid out $22.3 million, EPA just over $1 million and Interior has yet to provide any funds.

Most of the DOE cash has gone toward the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund, while all of EPA's spent money has gone to the Office of Inspector General or Environmental Programs and Management.

As a whole, the federal government has paid a total of $28.6 million, but almost all of that has gone to Medicaid checks and unemployment benefits.

Republicans criticized the administration for failing to quickly spend the money and jump-start the economy. But White House officials said the pace of the spending remains on schedule and the legislation would meet the promised job-saving and job-creation goals promised by Democrats.

Cash for specific projects typically takes longer to spend than direct payments to individuals. Administration officials say they expect spending on infrastructure and other initiatives to increase in the coming months.

"As the pace of the Recovery Act spending increases, we anticipate that by the end of September 2010, there will be 3.5 million jobs in place that have been created or retained and that we will have outlayed the $350 billion that you targeted if not more," Vice President Joe Biden said in a letter to President Obama. Biden's office is in charge of tracking stimulus spending.

The administration has said that it wants to commit 70 percent of the stimulus dollars by the end of 2010.

The White House intends to release a similar report on stimulus spending every three months.