Friday, January 30, 2009                                                                      Archive  |   Client Login

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Senate has just released their draft and will be debating issues leading up to a vote expected sometime next week. After that, the House and Senate will negotiate a final version with the goal of reaching Obama’s desk before President’s Day Weekend. Onvia’s team in DC has been close to the action and continues to press for maximum transparency and accountability. As we predicted, President Obama announced that Recovery.gov will serve as the official website to track how and when stimulus dollars are spent.

Over the next 2 weeks while we await the passage of the Recovery Bill, it is a great time for you to reconnect with agency and industry resources. I encourage you to leverage the detailed project and contact information from your Onvia subscription to access key decision makers and influencers that will help you get a jump on those pending projects. Given the broad set of funding programs, I recommend you focus on the agencies with a concentration in infrastructure, technology, water, energy, and education.

As we get closer to the passage of the Recovery Bill, I will continue to keep you informed about new developments and bring you first hand insight into what this means for your business. Please continue to send me your questions, mike@onvia.com.

Mike Pickett
Onvia President

House Passes Stimulus Package

$819 Billion Jolt to Economy Aims to Reshape Education, Health Care; Deficit to Soar The House passed an $819 billion tax-and-spending bill Wednesday, in a recession-fighting effort that would extend the reach of the federal government across the U.S. economy by reshaping policy on energy, education, health care and social programs.

The House bill is one of the largest single stimulus packages in history, almost equal to the entire cost of annual federal spending under Congress's discretion. A parallel Senate measure, which is expected to come to a vote next week, is now valued at nearly $900 billion.

Either bill, if enacted, would push the federal debt toward levels not seen since the second World War.

The package embodies President Barack Obama's philosophy, stated in his inaugural address, that a nation in crisis has moved beyond "stale political arguments" over the size and reach of government.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123315486943524321.html

Obama Meets With Business Leaders on Economy

President Obama said Wednesday he was confident that his economic stimulus package would be passed by Congress. "We're going to get it passed," he told reporters at the start of a meeting with corporate executives before a vote by the House on his $825 billion economic package expected later Wednesday.

Obama used his talks with business leaders to keep up a lobbying campaign for passage of his economic plan, which could be the signature domestic initiative of his first term as he struggles to deal with the worst financial crisis in decades.

"These are some of the leading CEOs in the country .... They are on the front lines in seeing enormous problems in our economy right now," he said, with the corporate chiefs sitting around a table.

CNBC/AP, January 28, 2009

http://www.cspan.org/Watch/C-SPAN_wm.aspx


Pres. Obama Remarks on the Economy

President Obama made remarks on the economy from the East Room of the White House following a meeting with business leaders from across the country.

http://www.cspan.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-14820

Statewide numbers

Estimated allocations to Ohio school districts for education under House Appropriations Committee Draft 2009 Stimulus Bill, the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"

Notice: These are estimated grants only. These estimates are provided solely to assist in making comparisons of the relative impact of alternative formulas and funding levels as part of the legislative process.

They are not intended to predict specific amounts districts will receive. In addition to other limitations, much of the data that may be used to calculate final grants are not yet available.

Columbus Dispatch, Tuesday, January 27, 2009 12:56 PM

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/01/27/astatewide.html?sid=101