Inland waterway users push for funding

摘要

The Obama administration gives with one hand with the stimulus but takes with the other in the proposed fiscal 2010 budget, sending millions of stimulus dollars to inland waterway infrastructure but slashing spending and adding a lockage fee in the proposed budget. The stimulus bill passed by Congress injects an extra 4.6 billion dollars into the Army Corps of Engineers over six years, but the proposed 2010 budget slashes by half spending on major construction and navigation projects to 144 million dollars. The overall Corps budget is down 277 million dollars from the current budget at 5.4 billion dollars, but is still a record for a budget request.