Stimulus bill contains wealth of provisions good for metals

Here is an article on the stimulus package that I found that should interesting to US Metal Finishers

Finishing Talk Members - we'd love to hear your feedback on this one.

American Metal Markets
February 17, 2009

The past, present and future are represented in the basket-load of goodies for metals and metals-related sectors in the $789-billion economic stimulus, which President Obama was expected to sign Tuesday in Denver.

From funds for cleaning up old mines to $50 billion in immediate infrastructure spending on roads and bridges and research funding for advanced electric vehicles, there seems to be something for everyone in the largest spending bill ever passed by Congress.

The $50 billion in new infrastructure spending is grabbing the attention, but it represents less than 7 percent of the total package.

Also of major significance is $2 billion targeted for Energy Department advanced vehicle batteries, which is expected to be a bonanza for a number of key metals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel and perhaps others. The funding is a massive increase from the $215 million being spent on work on advanced vehicle batteries in the current Energy Department budget.

Other noteworthy metals-related items in the stimulus package:

In last-minute negotiations, $8 billion for high-speed rail, which will provide a big boost for steel rail producers, was added to win the votes of three Republican senators: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Language specifically barring Customs from demanding repayment of duties collected under the now-defunct Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act?commonly known as the Byrd amendment? on North American Free Trade Agreement goods between 2001 and 2005.

Lobbyists for Harley Davidson Motor Co. and the recreational vehicle (RV) industry managed to get a last-minute provision under which tax breaks designed primarily for cars and trucks can be applied to the purchase of motorcycles and RVs as well.

A provision that will spend about $1 billion in developing a new clean-coal facility at Mattoon, Ill., part of a long-pending project called NewGen, quietly slipped into the final bill thanks largely to the efforts of Sen. Richard Durbin (D., Ill.).

Some $1.5 billion was set aside for construction and maintenance for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service and the Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department. A good chunk of that money is expected to go to mine cleanup because that work is considered a strong job-creator.

"These much-needed funds will create thousands of jobs, reduce water pollution, eliminate public safety threats and restore fish and wildlife habitat across the country," said Lauren Pagel, policy director for Earthworks, an environmental group that focuses on mining industry issues. Earthworks was formerly known as the Mineral Policy Center.

Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office and the state of Montana show that abandoned mine cleanup projects can generate between 23 and 65 jobs for every $1 million spent.

If the full $1.5 billion were to be spent on abandoned mine cleanup, that would translate to between 34,500 and 97,500 new jobs, Pagel said.

There are at least 160,000 abandoned mines in 11 western states plus South Dakota, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, and many of them are considered serious safety hazards.

"The price tag for cleaning up the 500,000 hardrock mines that scar landscapes across this country stands at an estimated $50 billion," Pagel said.