Government Relations Update - Economic
Stimulus
Implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (P.L. 111-5) continues to be conducted by the executive departments at a rapid pace. For the second consecutive week the Obama Administration has marked the release of ARRA funding with highly publicized events.
The White House held a conference for state officials on best practices for implementing the $787 billion stimulus package. Vice President Biden—the Obama administration's point man in overseeing the distribution of the stimulus dollars—opened the meeting with a stark reminder that there are restrictions to what types of projects can be funded through the Recovery Act stating, "This is not your usual federal grant going to states. And I want to be blunt with you, off-script here: The fact of the matter is all that is legal is not acceptable.... A little hint: No swimming pools in this money."
Vice President announced that the Administration will be issuing regulations that clarify the appropriate uses of stimulus funds on Friday, March 13.
Other announcements this week included:
- President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder announced $2 billion in Recovery Act 2009 funding allocations for state and local law enforcement and criminal justice assistance available through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program at the Columbus Police Graduation Exercises in Columbus, Ohio.
- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that his department has started to receive and distribute the first of $28 billion in ARRA funds.
- Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that $44 billion in stimulus funding will be made available to the states within 30-45 days of his March 7 press release.
A review of the March 10 weekly reports demonstrates that departments and agencies have been busy at work to either allocate or develop a schedule for the allocation of federal dollars. A comprehensive summary of each department's weekly report on ARRA implementation follows:
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA has started to receive and distribute the first of $28 billion in ARRA funding on March 9. To date, the USDA has taken or announced the following actions:
- The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will immediately use $145 million of the $173 million provided in the Recovery Act for its Direct Operating Farm Loan Program.
- USDA Rural Development Agency will initially provide nearly 10,000 rural families with $14.9 million ($1.17 billion in loan guarantees) for homeownership financing.
- USDA Rural Development will also release funding for more than $400 million in pending applications for Water and Waste grants and $140 million in pending applications for Water and Waste Direct Loans.
- The Forest Service has released almost $100 million of the $1.15 billion for projects in the Recovery Act. The stimulus funding will be used for hazardous fuels reduction, forest health protection, rehabilitation and hazard mitigation activities on federal, state and private lands.
- NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) will release $80 million of the $145 million for watershed projects this week.
- NRCS also will release $50 million this week for rehabilitating aging watershed structures to protect lives and property and public infrastructure.
The Economic Development Agency announced on March 11 that $150 million in funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce by the ARRA are now available for job creation and economic development in those areas suffering the most from the economic downturn. The initial announcement of this federal funding opportunity can be viewed here. Other upcoming ARRA implementation actions the Department of Commerce is planning include:
- Finalizing risk management plans for grants and acquisitions.
- Preparing ARRA Implementation Advisor testimony for House Committee on Science and Technology hearing on 3/19/09.
The Department of Defense reports several actions taken by the Pentagon in preparation for distributing $7.4 billion in ARRA funding, including:
- Review of proposed military construction and energy research projects.
- Preparation of military medical facility projects for White House approval.
- Drafting of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics policies for Homeowner's Assistance Fund.
Additionally, the Pentagon is preparing to submit military construction and energy research projects to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for their approval.
The Department of Education has begun to issue stimulus program guidance and has announced a schedule for the release of $44 billion in education funding.
- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that stimulus funding will be available to states in the next 30 to 45 days. The first round of funding will help avert hundreds of thousands of estimated teacher layoffs in schools and school districts while making educational improvements.
- The Department provided governors, state education commissioners, and school superintendents with overarching principles and timing for ARRA monies, as well as specific guidance for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Title I Part A, and IDEA Part B ARRA monies.
- The Senior Procurement Executive issued ED-wide implementation guidance for all contracts utilizing Recovery Act funding. This guidance highlights important contract-related items from the OMB Guidance as well as imposes new contract requirements for ED contracts to ensure transparency and accountability.
The Department of Energy has taken the following actions to begin implementation of the ARRA:
- The Western Area Power Administration released two Federal Register notices seeking interest in potential projects that can be funded using the Recovery Act authority to borrow from the U.S. Treasury.
- Several Recovery Act funded DOE positions have been posted on www.usajobs.opm.gov.
Additionally DOE will be undertaking the following activities to continue preparation for the release of ARRA guidance and funding.:
- DOE Recovery Office will work with Department of Labor and Department of Education on implementing job training assistance programs.
- Office of Public Affairs will be coordinating and finalizing announcements regarding stimulus allocation.
- DOE Recovery Office will continue to work with the Treasury Department on the grant program for renewable energy technologies.
Department of Health Human Services (HHS)
On March 4, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recovery website went live with their plan for the $8.2 billion in extramural funding it will receive from the ARRA and uploaded information on applying for NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research; Core Facility Renovation, Repair, and Improvement grants; Extramural Research Facilities Improvement Program grants; and the High-End Instrumentation Grant Program.
Other ARRA implementation actions undertaken at HHS include:
- The Department released the modified Applicant Information Bulletins for HRSA's National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program.
- On March 2, 2009, President Obama announced that $155 million of Health Care New Access Point (NP) funding was made available to 126 grantees.
HHS is also working on plans to establish a new Office of Recovery Act Coordination within the Office of the Secretary to ensure successful implementation of the ARRA throughout HHS. This Office will be led by a new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Recovery Act Coordination.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
On March 5, DHS announced $1 billion in aviation security projects focused on enhanced baggage security and liquid threats detection, to go along with their allocation of $700 million to checked baggage explosive detection systems and $300 million to checkpoint explosive detection technology.
The following U.S. airports have received conditional letters from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that their baggage detection system projects are being considered for execution under the ARRA legislation:
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According to DHS, they expect to begin allocating funds for final airport project selections as early as late spring.
Furthermore, although none of the department's $2.75 billion in ARRA funding has been allocated, DHS has set a date of March 17 to complete project expenditure plans for department-wide review.
Department of the Interior (DOI)
DOI reported the following actions to implement the ARRA:
- Continue Workgroup efforts to develop DOI policy, procedures and guidance on Recovery Act implementation.
- Complete development of General Agency Plan.
- Post competitive grant opportunities on www.grants.gov.
On March 10, DOJ announced that $100 million is now available for crime victim programs as part of the ARRA legislation, including:
- $47.5 million of which will be directed to state agencies for administering Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funded crime victim compensation programs
- $47.5 million to state agencies that administer VOCA-funded crime victim assistance programs
- $5 million will be directed to discretionary grant projects awarded under National Field-Generated Training, Technical Assistance, and Demonstration Projects (NFG) competitive grant solicitation.
A list of the allocations is available here.
On March 6, the DOJ also announced that $2 billion in ARRA funding is available for the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, which is a formula-based program based upon population and violent crime statistics. Under the current formula, sixty percent of JAG funding is awarded directly to states and 40 percent is set aside for local governments. Allocations under this program can be viewed here.
Currently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has only been allocated $1.7 million to for the purchase of equipment and vehicles for Gunrunner teams and ATF personnel assigned to Mexico. ATF will identify sources for equipment and vehicle purchases and begin obligating funding in the next few weeks..
DOJ's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) posted grant solicitations this week for the following programs:
- VOCA Victim Assistance Formula Grant Program
- VOCA Victim Compensation Formula Grant Program
- Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Formula Grant Program for ICAC Task Forces.
The Department of Labor provided details on internal steps taken by the department to implement stimulus funding; including:
- The Employment and Training Administration issued a Training and Employment Notice to the States on March 4, providing an overview of ETA's implementation strategy for the Recovery Act funds to preserve and create jobs, promote the nation's economic recovery, and assist those most impacted by the recession.
- Grant agreement Addendums were sent to States and grantees for Workforce Investment Act programs, the Wagner-Peyser Act program, and Senior Community Service Employment Program to be signed in order for funding to be released by March 19, 2009 obligating Recovery Act funds.
Department of Transportation (DOT)
DOT announced that of the Department's total allocation of $48.1 billion in ARRA funds they have already released $34.1 billion to the states only two weeks after the President signed the bill. To date, DOT has accomplished the following:
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) met the 21-day requirement by issuing apportionments totaling $26.6 billion to states—8 days earlier than required by law.
- FHWA provided extensive guidance on certification requirements and has received section 1511 certifications from 31 states.
- On March 5th, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released their implementation plan for high-speed rail and intercity passenger rail grant programs.
Department of the Treasury (DTR)
Treasury has thus far not provided any new details regarding the implementation of 30 modifications to the U.S. tax code contained within the ARRA legislation. However, they have begun implementing the "Making Work Pay" Tex Credit by directing employers to reduce tax withholdings from eligible employee paychecks; while COBRA health insurance continuation premium subsidies took effect on March 1.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA has begun to administer its $7.22 billion in ARRA funding allocated to support projects and programs administered by the Agency, of which OMB has authorized $6.24 billion.
EPA issued their Initial Recovery Act Grant Award Guidance, which allows grants to begin being awarded in the next 30 days; and, to speed the obligation of Recovery funds, they made an administrative determination to use in-place, competitively awarded emergency response and cleanup contracts.
EPA also posted synopses of competitive announcements relating Brownfields Job Training Grants, National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program, and Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Program on www.grants.gov.
General Services Administration (GSA)
GSA has the unenviable duty of evaluating project lists against a number of criteria, the two most important being: how fast jobs can be created jobs by getting "shovels in the ground;" and, how much added energy efficiency and sustainability can be gained from projects ready for construction award within 90-day, 1-year, and 2-year time frames.
GSA is also taking action to form a nationally managed,
regionally executed Project Management Office (PMO) dedicated to
managing reinvestment funded projects. It is anticipated that the
PMO will be functional within the Public Buildings Service, Central
office, by mid-March.
As the federal agencies prepare to push so much of the money out to the states, individual states continue to take their own steps to get ready. For more information on state efforts, please visit the directory of state recovery websites.
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