I’m told the group of ‘centrist’ senators (Collins, Nelson et al.) is meeting at this moment. And the basis of their meeting is a staff paper that was just circulated with a total of $77.9 billion proposed cuts to the existing senate bill.

The biggest hit is on education spending.

A few examples of the recommended cuts …

$24.786 Billion on “State Stabilization Money”
$15 Billion for “State Incentive Grants”
$6.75 Billion for “IDEA”, proposed cut 50%
$6.5 Billion for “Title I Funding”, proposed cut 50%

Most of $5 billion from HHS for ‘prevention and wellness’ programs.

$5.5 Billion “Supplementary Discretionary Grants Program” at HUD Transportation

Click the page below to see the full document …

Obama: “Washington may not be ready to get serious about energy independence. But I am.”

Elana Schor has a post this morning showing the four Senate Republicans who appear to be in play for President Obama on the Stimulus Bill, based on their vote last night on Sen. DeMint’s alternative Stimulus Bill. But there’s something else last night’s vote tells us. There were 36 out of 41 Republican senators who voted to scrap all spending in the Stimulus Bill. All of it.

This approaches flat earth territory in terms of where the economy is right now and what conventional macroeconomics suggests about how to combat the problem.

Late Update: TPM Reader MH ain’t happy …

I study neanderthals! Don’t insult them by associating them with Republicans. They survived ice ages and tens of thousands of years in the wilderness; with stone tools. The Republican Party couldn’t do that!