Stimulus aided programs Obama wants cut

WASHINGTON -- Federal programs deemed ineffective by President Obama and targeted for elimination in his proposed budget include five that stand to get about $500 million in economic stimulus funds, documents show.

In his $3.6 trillion budget released Thursday, Obama identified 121 programs that he wants to eliminate or reduce to save $17 billion. That includes eliminating an Army Corps of Engineers program that funds wastewater treatment projects and a U.S. Department of Agriculture flood control program — two programs that less than three months ago received a combined $490 million in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) now says the programs should be eliminated because they consist mostly of projects selected by Congress and not based on merit, budget documents show. The combined savings would be $204 million in fiscal year 2010, the office says.

The USDA reported Tuesday that so far it has spent $84.8 million of stimulus funds on flood control projects. The Corps of Engineers' stimulus plans call for spending $206.7 million on water treatment projects. The law requires the Corps to spend its stimulus money on projects approved by Congress, but it gives the USDA the authority to decide what to fund.

Obama administration officials are "talking out of both sides of their mouth, saying they want to cut programs which have been increased this year," said Tom Schatz of the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste said. "It makes it harder to get these programs eliminated or reduced when there?s just been an increase."

The stimulus law is different, OMB spokesman Thomas Gavin said, because it gives the agencies greater flexibility in how they spend the money. "We're eliminating things that don't work, and investing in things that do," Gavin said in an e-mail.

"These projects fulfill needs, namely clean water and working sewers," said Jacob Ritvo, a spokesman for Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., chairman of the House panel overseeing the Corps. budget.