A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 2)  4/1/09Follow @jmatheson
Spring has sprung in DC—the Cherry Blossoms are out, and the
buses full of students are everywhere.  First stop for the day
was Congressman Barney Frank’s office to discuss an initiative
to develop a clean energy accelerator park in New Bedford, MA.
More on this later, but a few immediate takeaways:  —The prep
work for the FY 10 budget is essentially done, the real work now
begins behind committee doors to sort out specifics and
priorities. FY 11 efforts begin soon…  —Legislators have limited
control over flow of stimulus dollars; they can endorse (and you
should engage on this), but ARA (stimulus) money will flow
through mostly pre-existing channels, which is both good and
bad.  —Earmarks may or may not be dead, but it’s clear that they
have changed with the notion of competitive bids for any earmark
that does make it into a budget. How that will work? Anyone’s
guess at this point.  —The Staffers are good, smart, and
extremely busy; be prepare