An agency-by-agency look at Obama’s budget request for fiscal 2011

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A look at Obama’s 2011 budget for govt agencies

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s multi-trillion-dollar budget would boost spending for several government agencies while slashing the account for others. Here is an agency-by-agency glance:

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Agency: Transportation

Spending: $79.2 billion

Percentage change from 2010: 1 percent increase

Mandatory Spending: $56.4 billion

Highlights: Calls for the creation of a $4 billion National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund. Large, expensive projects sometimes have trouble obtaining money, especially if more than one state or local jurisdiction is involved. The fund will target projects that will have the biggest impact on improving transportation or safety, such as replacing aging bridges that limit harbor access or antiquated tunnels that force trains to slow to a crawl.

The fund would be a significant departure from the federal government’s traditional means of spending on infrastructure through grants to specific states and localities, often by formulas created by Congress to generate political support for legislation that doesn’t take into account that some states or regions might have greater needs. The fund would directly support projects through grants, loans or a blend of both, and seek to leverage private capital.

While campaigning for president, Barack Obama called for creation of a national infrastructure investment bank using seed money from the federal government. The proposed fund would be part of the Transportation Department and wouldn’t have the independence of a stand-alone bank. However, it would perform some of the same functions.

The budget proposal also seeks an additional $1 billion for high-speed trains. Last week, Obama announced grants totaling $8 billion to 13 major rail projects across the country. Separately, Congress allocated $2.5 billion for the current budget year ending on Sept. 30.

The proposal also seeks $1.1 billion for FAA’s NextGen program, a long-term effort to improve the efficiency, safety and capacity of the air traffic control system by moving from ground-based radar surveillance to a more accurate satellite-based surveillance.

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Agency: Veterans Affairs

Spending: $121.7 billion

Percentage change from 2010: 2.6 percent decrease

Mandatory Spending: $64.7 billion

Highlights: Some 2 million veterans have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The budget proposal would invest nearly $800 million in services targeting veterans who are homeless, in part, through partnerships with private and government groups. It would allocate funds for counseling and medical care for female veterans who are serving at unprecedented levels in the nation’s wars. It would also invest $5.2 billion in specialized care for mental health conditions, including traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The president’s budget also calls for $50.6 billion in advanced appropriations for VA medical care, to prevent budget delays from hindering planning. This was long sought after by veterans’ service organizations, and Obama signed a bill into law last fall allowing advanced appropriations.

The budget also would allow for an increase in enrollment of more than 500,000 moderate-income veterans in the VA system by 2013.

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