The total package — including tax cuts and direct aid to the poor and unemployed — won significantly better marks for speed than the portion of the package devoted to highways, schools and other infrastructure projects, which are among the Democrats’ top priorities. The CBO report predicts that only about 40 percent of the $356 billion dedicated to those projects would be spent by the end of 2010.
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Of $30 billion set aside for highways, for example, only about $10.5 billion would be spent in that time period. Of $18.5 billion dedicated to renewable energy projects, less than $4 billion would flow by the end of 2010. And of $20 billion proposed for school modernization and repair, only about $8.5 billion would be spent over the next 19 months.