The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - "A Review for Civil Engineers" - STATUS UPDATE - August 2009  

ASCE American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) Webinar - A Briefing for Civil Engineers - March 5, 2009

• ARRA Summary for Civil Engineers
• Power Point of the ARRA Webinar

              Click Here for the Full Audio version of the ARRA Webinar on March 5, 2009!

 

• August 12th - Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, decided last week to publicize the best and worst performing states when it comes to using stimulus funds for highway projects. Using a formula based on the percentage of Recovery Act highway funds put out to bid, under contract or actually underway, Oberstar's committee determined that Wyoming ($186 million; 45 projects) had done the best job of utilizing its highway monies, having committed 76% of its funds. Right behind Wyoming was New Hampshire ($182 million; 24 projects; 64%) and Oklahoma ($523 million; 48 projects; 53%).   On the other hand, Florida was deemed to have done the poorest job of using the stimulus funds to begin new road efforts, having used only 2% of its allocated highway funds. Even though state officials had launched 66 projects, they had received considerably more money than Wyoming—$1.76 billion. Then, there's Hawaii, recipient of $199 million, which has only started one new highway project and, as of June 30, had yet to spend a single dollar. South Carolina was also singled out, having been given $486 million and launched only 15 projects, using only 3% of available funds.
• July 9th - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urged states to redirect stimulus funds to the nation's hardest hit areas today. Secretary LaHood sent a letter to all 50 governors requesting that each state funnel stimulus funds, which were saved from lower then expected bids on highway and transit projects to "economically depressed areas". However, with highway and transit projects only accounting for 6% of the stimulus package, Mr. LaHood's concept may not have a major impact on the current direction of stimulus spending.
• July 8th - The Government Accountability Office today released a report regarding the ARRA funds entitled "States' and Localities' Current and Planned Uses of Funds While Facing Fiscal Stresses". The report was mandated under the ARRA and focuses on 9 federal programs, including Highway funds, which account for nearly 87% of the Recovery funds. The full report is available here.
• June 8th - President Obama announced that the spending plan for the ARRA will be accelerated in order to get money flowing to economically distressed communities more quickly. Of those projects getting funds at an accelerated pace will be maintenance and repair work for 1,600 highway and airport projects.
• June 2nd - The Environmental Protection Agency has approved a nationwide waiver from the "Buy American" requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for small iron and steel components of projects funded under the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) programs. The waiver applies to nuts, bolts, and other small components used in the construction of drinking-water and wastewater treatment plants. Such components typically account for less than five percent of the total cost of a project, the EPA said June 2.
  
  In a separate notice on the same day, EPA also waived the Buy American requirement for all iron, steel, and manufactured goods funded under ARRA and that had solicited bids between October 1, 2008, and February 17, 2009.
  
  The Buy American provision of the ARRA requires all iron, steel, and manufactured goods purchased with Recovery Act funds to be made in the United States. The Act allows waivers if the requirement is "inconsistent with the public interest."
  
  The EPA waiver "permits the use of non-domestic iron, steel, and manufactured goods when they occur in ... incidental components of ... projects funded by ARRA," the agency said. The waiver applies to low-cost components that are essential for, but incidental to, the construction of a wastewater or drinking-water treatment plant, "such as nuts, bolts, other fasteners, tubing, gaskets" and the like, the agency said.
  
  The public-interest waivers were necessary to ensure the smooth completion of the time-sensitive projects, the agency said. "In contrast with the situation applicable to major components with regard to country of manufacture, availability, and procurement process, the situation applicable to these incidental components is one where the country of manufacture and the availability of alternatives are not readily or reasonably identifiable prior to procurement in the normal course of business," EPA explained.
• May 13th - The Quarterly Report to the President on Progress Implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 have been released! Click here to view the report
• May 8th - The Environmental Protection Agency announced the release of $100 million in grants for cleaning up brownfields. Of that amount, $37 million will ceom from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with the remainder coming from the EPA's general program for brownfields. In total, 389 grants were awarded and all recipients must provide quarterly reports detailing their cleanups. Click here for a full listing of all projects receiving grants.
• February 18th - To follow how the stimulus is spent check out http://www.recovery.gov/
• February 17th - President Barack Obama signed the $787 stimulus bill in Denver, Colorado today!
• February 13th - The House of Representatives voted 246-183 in favor of the $787 billion economic stimulus conference report on a strict party line vote, setting the stage for a final Senate vote later on today. The conference report includes $311 billion in spending. Of that $27.5 billion will go toward highway investment, $8.4 billion for Public Transportation, and $1.5 billion for competitive grants to state and local governments for transportation investments. The Full Conference Report
• February 10th - The Senate passed their version of the economic recovery bill this afternoon, which totaled $838 billion. Just three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania — crossed the aisle to back the president. Leaders from both the House and Senate will now conference to resolve the differences between the two bills. One of the major issues to be funding for school construction. Both Collins and Specter insisted upon maintaining the school construction cuts in the negotiations, while President Obama saying it would generate construction jobs and be a long term commitment to education important to the economy.
• February 10th - The economic recovery plan is expected to advance toward passage in the Senate today, after it cleared the last procedural hurdle last night. After final passage in the Senate, both chambers will negotiate the final version during conference. The House and Senate largely agree on funding evels for transportation and other infrastructure in their versions of the economic recovery plan, but they differ on how quickly states would be required to spend the money. The House bill would require states to obligate at least half of the stimulus highway funding within 90 days, while the Senate would give them 180 days. Additionally, the House bill would provide $30 billion for highway and bridge projects, while the Senate would allocate $27 billion. The House version includes $3 billion for aviation, while the Senate bill proposes $1.3 billion. Finally, the House offers $1.1 billion for rail, while the Senate proposes $3.1 billion.
• February 9th - 3/5 of the Senate voted to pass the Nelson-Collins amendment. The amendment was passed 61-36, putting the compromise agreement on track for final passage tomorrow. Three Republicans, Susan Collins (R-ME), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), along with both independents, and all 56 Democratic Senators voted in support of the bill.
• February 9th - The Senate plans to vote today at 5:30pm on a motion to invoke cloture, or limit debate, on the compromise amendment. Assuming cloture is invoked, the Senate will consider teh compromised amendment at noon on Tuesday and move to final passage.
• February 9th - Senators came to a compromise agreement on February 6th that secured the support of a handful of Republican moderates. The new version of the Senate bill has many signifcant differences from the House version and comes at a price tag of $780 billion, down from nearly $900 billion. The decrease in spending is due to reductions in funding for several programs. For example, the House bill included $20 billion for school construction, while the Senate bill is likely to have none. However, President Obama's top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, has indicated that the administration would like to see all or some the school construction funding restored. The full compromise agreement, the Nelson-Collins amendment, can be viewed here.
• February 5th - ASCE supports an amendment from Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and James Inhofe (R-OK) would redirect funding that would otherwise expire at the end of fiscal year 2009 as well as unobligated balances from programs appropriated throughout the legislation that have not been obligated within a year of enactment. These funds would then be redistributed to states to spend on drinking-water and wastewater infrastructure and highway and public transit programs, based on priority lists of projects that are ready to go to contract within 120 days.
• February 5th - A group of moderate Senators is working to eliminate “non-stimulative” investment from the bill. This does NOT include infrastructure.
• February 4th - ASCE opposes an amendment from Sens. Christopher Bond (R-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), James Inhofe (R-OK), and Max Baucus (D-MT) to eliminate $5.5 billion in the bill passed by the Senate Appropriations committee that would go to a discretionary surface transportation grant program. Amendment #169 proposes to transfer that money to highway formula grants, and removes the requirement that highway and transit funds left unobligated after one year be transferred to the discretionary grant program. ASCE supports the discretionary transportation grant because funds would be awarded for any surface transportation project-highways, transit, rail or port infrastructure-as long as they have a significant impact on the nation, a region, or a metropolitan area.  Priority would be given to projects that can be completed within three years.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, the Murray - Feinstein Amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was voted down on a point of order. The amendment would have raised the bill's highway funding from $27 billion to $40 billion, transit funding from $8.4 billion to $13.4 billion, and water and sewer funding from $6 billion to $13 billion. The amendment drew a 58-39 vote, two votes short of the 60 needed. There are rumors that a similar amendment will be introduced on February 5th.   Full Story
• ASCE supports Amendment #205, a proposal by Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) that would double funds to the Army Corps of Engineers. Click here to read a letter ASCE and 128 other groups sent in support of increased funding for water resources funding on February 2nd. Update - February 6th - Due to events in the Senate, Senator Landrieu offered the amendment, but then proceeded to withdraw it late on Friday night.
• On Wednesday, January 28th, the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The bill passed with a vote of 244 - 188, with no Republicans voting for the bill. The House bill includes $526.5 billion in spending and $275 billion in tax cuts, of that spending figure only about 5% will go toward infrastructure. Several amendments to the bill were adopted during the day, including one that boosts transit spending from $9 billion to $12 billion, a "use it of lose it" provision that requires 50% of the money for infrastructure is obligated within 90 days, and an amendment clarifying that highway maintenance money in the bill cannot supplant existing state funds. Two notable amendments that were defeated were a provision to take the $800 million for Amtrak out of the bill and a GOP motion to recommit the bill that would have added $36 billion for highways and $24 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, while cutting spending for many other programs. 

Letters and Statements

• ASCE Letter to Congressional Leaders regarding "Job Creation-Economic Recovery Legislation"
• ASCE Letter on "Principles for Infrastructure Investment" to President - Elect Obama
• ASCE Statement on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of  2009 to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
• ASCE Letter to Congress on H.R. 1: Letters to the 1/ 27 Senate Appropriations, 1/26 Senate Finance, 1/27 House Rules
• 2/4/09 ASCE Letter to the Full Senate urging quick action on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
• 2/4/09 ASCE Letter to the Full Senate urging Members to Vote "No" on the Bond-Boxer-Inhofe-Baucus Amendment
• 2/4/09 ASCE Letter to the Full Senate urging Members to Vote "Yes" on the Boxer-Inhofe Amendment
• 2/10/09 ASCE Letter to the House and Senate Conferees Letter to Conferees - 02/10/09