On today's anniversary of the stimulus, USA Today published an article detailing how some of that funding is actually being used for slashed government programs. According to the piece, "[President] Obama's proposed budget also includes $334 million in cuts to programs that got more than $3 billion in stimulus money. They include:
• A $100 million cut in funding for maintenance and construction in national forests. The Forest Service got $650 million for such projects in the stimulus package, of which $55.6 million has been spent, according to USDA reports. The White House budget says the Forest Service doesn't need as much money because it is building fewer roads.
• A $44 million decrease in funding for an Interior Department program to thin trees and brush on federal land to mitigate wildfires. The stimulus provided $15 million for the program. The administration says it is reorganizing the program, which has been less effective than it should be because it didn't focus on preventing the fires most likely to threaten homes.
The stimulus, which CBO now estimates will cost $862 billion, is broken down energy, education, transportation and safety net on the article page. Check it out here.