Friday, February 6, 2009                                                                      Archive  |   Client Login

With the House passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, HR 1, the bill now sits with the Senate. This week the Senate has debated and amended the bill’s provisions with the goal to pass their version of the legislation by the end of today. Once through the Senate, Congress will convene a joint conference of the House and the Senate to reconcile the differences between their respective versions of the bill.

Onvia’s team remains in DC closely monitoring the bill’s progress and pressing for maximum transparency and accountability in funded projects. Recovery.gov, announced by President Obama, remains an important provision in the bill as the official website that will track how and when stimulus dollars are spent.

I can’t encourage you enough to engage with your agency contacts and ask questions about the agency’s plans for recovery-funded projects and upcoming needs. You can use the detailed project and contact information from your Onvia subscription to access key decision makers and influencers to support your effort. Many of you asked me last week which agencies should you target. The broad set of funding programs is still focused on infrastructure, technology, water, energy, and education. You can determine the agencies most likely to receive funding by aligning past projects documented in your Onvia subscription with these funding programs.

Each day the passage of the Recovery Bill gets closer. We 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

Senate poised to pass stimulus

WASHINGTON — Senate leaders called off plans to vote on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan Thursday night in hopes that a group of centrist lawmakers from both parties would be able to fashion a compromise that would cut the cost of the $937 billion bill and win support from a few Republicans.

After a day of negotiations, Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada dropped plans to hold a final vote on the bill as the bipartisan group worked into the night to trim as much as $100 billion, an attempt to bring moderate Republicans on board without driving Democrats away.

Chicago Tribune, Janet Hook, February 6, 2009

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-stimulus_frifeb06%2c0%2c187865.story

U.S. Conference of Mayors Remarks on Economic Stimulus

A delegation from the U.S. Conference of Mayors met with White House senior staff to discuss the urgent need for an economic stimulus package. Following the meeting, members of the delegation made remarks to reporters..

CSPAN, February 4, 2009

http://www.cspan.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-15085


Charles Dinges, American Society of Civil Engineers, Senior Managing Director

The American Society of Civil Engineers released their report card on the state of America’s Infrastructure. Charles Dinges talks about how infrastructure could be improved in light of the availability of "shovel ready" projects that could receive federal money.

http://www.cspan.org/Watch/watch.aspx?ProgramId=Economy-A-40527

Questions remain in stimulus funding plan

Where cash will end up still unclear.

When then-Senator Barack Obama started floating plans to infuse billions of dollars into the U.S. economy through a gargantuan infrastructure and stimulus bill, one of the many groups to take notice was Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois, the Edwardsville business group that's coordinated some of the region's biggest projects.

For now, plans call for the federal government to outline spending plans, then submit funding to state governments, which will dole out the money for infrastructure improvements, green technology and job creation, among many others. The buzzword here is "shovel-ready" projects, or proposals that already have plans drafted and are only awaiting funding, said Irv Alpert, a vice president for Onvia Inc., a Seattle research company that's helping some local cities and contractors navigate the complicated process of securing funds.

States are involved to ensure transparency - no chance for Congress members to insert earmarks - and to make sure the funding is spent, he said. The oversight will also make sure states don't squirrel away the money and that projects will help the nation's hobbled economy.

CSuburban Journals, Chris Coates, February 4, 2009

http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2009/02/04/madison/news/0204edw-stimbar.txt