Tuesday, March 6, 2009                                                                      Archive  |  Client Login

Since the signing of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), there is a lot to cover. In this issue we will report on:

• A way to track ARRA funded projects in your Onvia subscription
• A new resource to view the ARRA spending activity Recovery.org
• An oversight committee hearing on transparency and accountability
• An updated view on the spending programs and timelines
• An overview of the recovery programs set up by individual states
• Answers to some of the questions that you have submitted

Tracking ARRA opportunities with Onvia
You will now be able to easily identify the ARRA funded opportunities with your Onvia subscription. Watch for the keywords “Economic Recovery Spending.” Many of these opportunities are in the early stages and published as Advance Notices. Contact your account manager to confirm you are set-up to receive Advance Notices. For more information click here to download “How to Identify Economic Recovery Projects with Onvia."

Onvia Launches Recovery.org
Onvia launched the beta of Recovery.org this week. This is a new site that displays detailed data, maps, and graphs of the spending activity associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The site includes spending by Federal, State and Local government agencies, and will allow you to explore these activities in great detail by State, by Congressional District, and by Community.

First Oversight Hearing Held on Stimulus Funding
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., held the first hearing examining how the federal government will account for the billions of dollars expected to be spent over the next two years as a result of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Spending Programs and Timelines
Many questions have been asked about the funding process and timelines. The table below provides these breakdowns for four major funding programs. We will continue to update this analysis as the federal agencies clarify their allocation activities.

Spending Programs and Timelines
Program	Spending	Timeline
Highways & Bridges	$27.5B in allocations & competitive   grants with 30% sub allocated within   the state:	Funds apportioned within 21 days of   bill enactment: 50% must be obligated within 120 days The balance within 1 year Funds not obligated will be re-obligated to other states ("use it or lose it")
Energy &   Environment	$44.8B for energy efficiency investment and R & D $7.2B for EPA of which $6.4B for clean water	Extended 12 month under construction "use it or lose it"
Broadband   (RUS & NTIA)	$7.2B in competitive grants, loans and guarantees Some matching requirements	Preference to use 50% of funding for activities that can start within 120 days of enactment
Public Safety	$3B in Byrne/Jag grants for crime prevention and control $1B in COPS grants to hire additional law enforcement personnel	Funds are available until expended or September 30th, 2010

State Recovery Programs
In addition to the state and local projects being funded by the federal programs designated by the ARRA, 16 states have proposed, designed and enacted their own stimulus/recovery plans amounting to over $10B in a combination of tax savings and spending. An overview of these plans can be found at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/fiscal/stimulusplans.htm.

Thank you for all of your questions. Starting with this Advisory we have included answers to some of your questions. Please keep sending in your questions to mike@onvia.com.

Mike Pickett
Onvia President

Answers to Your Questions

Informative Articles

State Economic Stimulus Plans

16 states have proposed, designed and enacted state-level stimulus plans in response to the current economic recession. Public spending on infrastructure projects is perhaps the most common component of state stimulus plans. Other elements include small business development, increased capital in local financial markets, job creation incentives, and investments in green energy and health technology.

The following chart shows stimulus plan details for 16 states. Investments from these selected states add up to over $10 billion.

National Conference of State Legislatures, February 26, 2009
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/fiscal/stimulusplans.htm

'Shovels hit the ground' on stimulus project, Obama says

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the country already is "seeing shovels hit the ground" on the first infrastructure repair project funded through the Transportation Department's share of the $787 billion stimulus bill.

President Obama says investing in the country's roads will help to save lives.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "The work begins today in Montgomery County, Maryland, where a work crew is starting on a project to resurface Maryland State Highway 650 -- a very busy road that has not been fully repaired in 17 years."

The resurfacing contract is going to a Pennsylvania-based family-owned company, America Infrastructure, LaHood said. He said the project will support 60 jobs. "And that's how we're going to get the country back on its feet," LaHood added.

CNN, March 3, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/03/stimulus/index.html

First Oversight Hearing Held on Stimulus Funding

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., held the first hearing examining how the federal government will account for the billions of dollars expected to be spent over the next two years as a result of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Witnesses on this panel included:
The Honorable Robert L. Nabors II , Deputy Director , Office of Management and Budget Gene L. Dodaro , Acting Comptroller General , U.S. Government Accountability Office The Honorable Phyllis K. Fong , Inspector General, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Chair, Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.

Onvia’s team in DC attended today’s hearing and filed this report:
After opening remarks from Chairman Lieberman, Senator Collins and the panel of witnesses, committee members quickly turned to questioning the panel about stimulus spending timelines and their expected level of transparency. Both Senator Collins and Senator Claire McCaskill (R-MO) drilled in on the shortcomings of the recently issued OMB reporting guidance and stressed the importance of tracking spending down to the local level.

McCaskill was also quick to state that the “Guidance doesn’t match what we have advertised … We have staked our reputation on this.” Collins echoed McCaskill’s call for deep transparency as Nabors expressed that he would take this message back to OMB for consideration.

In additional testimony, Dodaro detailed a plan to audit a core group of 16 states and some localities as a representative sample of stimulus spending. Based on today’s testimony, it is clear that the federal government is becoming keenly aware of the complexity involved with tracking the over 89,000 state and local agencies, something Onvia has mastered over the last decade.

A replay of the hearing can be viewed at:
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?ProgramId=HP-A-40973