From the CHE Daily: “Congress Reaches Deal on $789-Billion Stimulus Bill.” This thing is still clearly a moving target and given the pessimism I’ve heard lately about how this will work for bailing states (like Michigan) out of debt, I still think it’s too early to be optimistic. But here’s a couple interesting paragraphs from the article:
The two versions also included significantly different amounts for a “state fiscal-stabilization fund” that would give states money to distribute to public colleges and elementary and secondary schools to help buffer them from budget cuts. The Senate bill allocated $39-billion for that fund, while the House bill included $79-billion.
Several news sources were reporting that the compromise would provide $54-billion for the state fund, including $10-billion that could be used to modernize college and school facilities.
So who knows? Maybe Michigan will get enough to stop the bleeding, and maybe EMU might get some of that $10 billion building money for “shovel ready” projects.
