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Gov. John Baldacci, in a letter to then President-elect Barack Obama, formally requested Maine be included in any stimulus package.

“We appreciate what the governor is trying to do to help Maine through the stimulus package,” John Diamond of the University of Maine System Relations said.

Included in the approximately $4 billion request was “at least $52 million” for infrastructure at institutions of higher education. In addition, Baldacci requested student loans be funded on a higher level and money to increase research and development, though not specifically at the University of Maine.

“The university is in support of an effort that is currently in both the Senate and the House stimulus package. That includes money for higher ed.,” Diamond said.

It is difficult to assess how effective Baldacci’s letter was, but the recently passed House version of the stimulus package included an additional $15.6 billion for Pell Grants and money for building repair and research and development, among other items. These and other funds will most likely not be distributed directly to states.

Because the stimulus package has not been signed into law, the state has not yet taken any stimulus money into account while preparing the budget, with the exception of Medicaid. David Farmer, a spokesperson for Baldacci, said a promised increase in federal funding for the program helped avoid an additional $100 million of cuts in the biennial budget.

President Obama’s stimulus package still has to be passed by the Senate. House and Senate versions must be reconciled before the law can take effect.

Heather Steeves contributed to this report.

The breakdown of Baldacci’s request:

Infrastructure

$500M – roads and bridges

$186.9M – public transit and trails

$130M – water infrastructure projects

$250M – repair, upgrade and weatherization

of state facilities

$1.88B – school construction and repair

$3-5M – affordable housing

$52M – higher education

$200M – improve energy efficiency of business facilities

$100M – support wind power research

$72M – weatherize all Maine homes

$115M – expand fiber optics in rural Maine and fund electronic health records

Baldacci also requested increased money for safety net programs, shared state-federal

funding programs, education and infrastructure as well as expanded funding for student loans and funding for research and development.

From the letter Gov. Baldacci sent to President Obama on Dec. 31, 2008

• Governor Baldacci cuts higher education funding (January 22, 2009)
• Baldacci cuts UM budget by $5.3M (November 20, 2008)
• Baldacci says possible bond package will aid University of Maine System (February 21, 2005)
• Baldacci reminisces on college years (November 20, 2003)
• Baldacci praises grad research program at UMaine (September 14, 2009)

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.