Obama Signs Stimulus Bill in Denver While Denverites Sign Big Checks for It

While President Barack Obama is signing the national $787 billion stimulus bill into law in Denver, residents of Colorado will be signing something of their own. Protestors will be meeting on the west steps of the Colorado State Capitol in order to sign checks to the government for $30,000 each.

The checks are 4-foot wide representations of the amount each American family will be indebted due to the passage of the stimulus bill. A press conference will be held in conjunction with the protest at 12:15 p.m. local time. The complete protest event is scheduled to run until 2 p.m. and will also include speakers and notable attendees.

The final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is available for public viewing and can be found in links from the White House website, in five parts. The final version includes funding for things such as Health Information Technology Implementation (section 3012, part 1), Protections for Indians Under Medicaid and Chip (section 5006, part 3), and [Determination of] Increases of Imports for Certain Fishermen (Section 1886, part 2).

Interestingly, Section 1887 (found in part 2) is titled "Extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers", but in the one short paragraph explanation, it calls for an adjustment to the fiscal year in order "to carry out the purposes of this chapter, including administrative costs, and salaries and expenses of employees of the Department of Agriculture."

The bill saw many changes and additions, and in its final form is reported to be 595 pdf pages or 999 printed pages in length - something more than one source has claimed most in Congress did not read or have the time to read before the vote.

Sources:

Obama Travels to Denver to Sign Stimulus Into Law. AP/Fox News-Politics. February 17, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/17/obama-sign-stimulus-decide-afghanistan-soon/

Live in Colorado? Sign the check! Barracuda Babes for Palin. February 16, 2009. http://barracudababes.blogspot.com/2009/02/live-in-colorado-sign-check.html

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The White House - Press Office. February 13, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/arra_public_review/

Democratic Senator Predicts None of His Colleagues 'Will Have the Change' to Read Final Stimulus Bill Before Vote. Ryan Byrnes and Edwin Mora. February 13, 2009. CNS News. http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=43478