Arizona

To: Interested Parties
Fr: White House Communications
Da: April 22, 2009
Re: The Obama-Biden economic plan: creating jobs, strengthening the economy for Arizona families

Facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, President Obama started his Presidency with decisive action -- proposing and quickly passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Since the bill went into effect, the ARRA has already helped put money back in the pockets of 95 percent of working Americans, created and saved jobs across the country and made key investments in our community to help kickstart the economy. To ensure that the funds are spent efficiently and effectively, President Obama tasked Vice President Biden with overseeing the implementation of ARRA, and projects have already begun to come in under budget across the country. As the President prepares to introduce the details of his budget and further plans to revitalize the economy, here’s a look at how his policies have impacted Arizona in the first three months of his administration.

IMPACT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES ON ARIZONA

Working Families:

Making Work Pay: The President’s tax-cut – which covers more Americans than any in history – is putting more than $1.1 billion back in the pockets of more than 2.2 million hard-working Arizona families.
$50,876,886 to support child care for working families.

Energy:

$63,817,400 in block grants to foster energy efficiency in building, transportation, and a wide range of other improvements.
$57,023,278 to support the weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment.
$55,447,000 to the State Energy Program, available for rebates to consumers for energy saving improvements; development of renewable energy projects; promotion of Energy Star products; efficiency upgrades for state and local government buildings; and other innovative state efforts to help save families money on their energy bills.

Education:

$1,502,869,874 potentially available to Arizona to lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save thousands of teaching jobs at risk due to state and local budget cuts.

Health Care:

$3,900, 000 to fund 3 new Community Health Centers, which will serve an estimated 13,010 patients and create a projected 95 jobs.
$5,630,597 to expand services at 16 existing Community Health Centers, which will expand service to an additional 59,814 patients and create or save a projected 125 jobs.
$1,991,976 to provide meals to low-income seniors.
$351,481,067 made available in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to protect health care for the families hit hard by the economic crisis and some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
$3,741,938 in vaccines and grants to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need.

Transportation:

$521,958,401 in highway funds to help build and repair roads and bridges.
$100,561,948 to repair and build public transportation infrastructure.
$28,648,700 to address airport safety and security, infrastructure, runway safety, increased capacity, and mitigation of environmental impacts.

Law Enforcement:

More than $41.9 for state and local law enforcement assistance available through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The JAG Program supports a variety of efforts such as hiring and support for law enforcement officers; multijurisdictional drug and gang task forces; crime prevention and domestic violence programs; and courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives.

REAL RESULTS IN ARIZONA

Thanks to the Obama Administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, real impact is already being felt across the state.

Arizona Department Of Transportation Announced That The State’s 41 Highway Projects Paid For With Stimulus Money Will Generate More Than 6,000 Jobs By This Summer. "Construction jobs are coming to Arizona by this summer. The Arizona Department of Transportation has already pinpointed 41 state highway projects that should bring with them more than 6,000 jobs. Five projects in Maricopa County should create or save nearly 2,200 jobs, according to ADOT. ‘There will be other types of jobs created, like accounting and book keeping, that will come with this boost of funding,’ said Tim Tate with ADOT. " [ABC 15, 4/13/09]

Stimulus Dollars Will Help Fund Arizona’s Switch to All-Digital Medical Records. "Federal money could accelerate Arizona's push toward digital health records, making staples such as paper charts, written prescriptions and doctor's-office clipboards a thing of the past. As part of its stimulus package, the government will pump more than $19 billion into computers and software systems that promise to connect hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and other health-care players…" [The Arizona Republic, 4/18/09]

Stimulus-Funded Project to Widen I-10 Will Create an Estimated 520 Jobs. "If speed is the intent of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, then the Interstate 10 widening project in the Southwest Valley is hurtling along as it comes up for bid two weeks after it was approved. On March 13, the State Transportation Board endorsed a priority list of shovel-ready projects across Arizona. The first five projects in Maricopa County include four in the West Valley and one in the North Valley. The first round of 14 state highway construction projects totaling $85 million are now advertised for bid and should be under construction this summer. The other projects will follow soon. The State Transportation Board approved 41 projects statewide totaling $350 million. In the Southwest Valley, the $43.2 million I-10 widening project from Sarival Avenue to Verrado Way is estimated to create about 520 jobs." [The Arizona Republic, 4/1/09]

Maricopa County Accepted Its First Batch Of Federal Stimulus Money, Which Will Help Pay For Services For The County’s Growing Homeless Population."Maricopa County accepted its first batch of federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Department of Public Health will receive an extra $237,718 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the next two years to help with the county's growing homeless population. It might seem like a small chunk of change, but it's enough to hire two more social workers and one medical assistant for Healthcare for the Homeless programs." [Arizona Republic, 4/16/09]

Mesa Police Department Applying For ARRA Funding To Hire Up To 25 New Police Officers. "The Mesa police department got the go-ahead this week to apply for federal stimulus money to hire up to 25 police officers. Monday's approval came after much debate among City Council members about whether it makes sense to apply for the money, and for how many officers, because it would also bring with it equipment and training costs in the near future, and long-term costs to retain those officers. The way the grant program is devised, Mesa police would be required to pay for officer salaries and benefits in their fourth year. The federal money would go toward paying for entry-level officers for the first three years." [East Valley Tribune (AZ), 4/7/09]

Arizona Will Receive $57 Million to Weatherize Homes and $55 Million for the State Energy Program – Funds Will Put People Back to Work Said Community Activist. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that Arizona would receive $57 million to help weatherize low-income homes and another $55.4 million for the state energy program, which weatherizes homes and is involved in several other energy-efficiency and renewable-energy programs. All told, the state is getting about a tenfold increase in the amount of money that community organizations can dole to people struggling to pay utility bills and better insulate their homes, said Cynthia Zwick, executive director of the Arizona Community Action Association. The associations throughout the state that use the money are looking to train more air-conditioning technicians, plumbers and electricians who are contracted to make low-income homes more energy efficient, she said. ‘We are re-employing people who have been laid off in this economy,’ she said." [Arizona Republic, 3/15/09]

Stimulus Funds Will Provide $449,000 To The North County HealthCare To Open New Facilities And Hire More Workers. "One healthcare company is looking to use stimulus funding to make its way into Lake Havasu City. On Thursday, the United States Department of Health and Human Services announced North Country HealthCare would receive $449,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. Rick Swanson, director of marketing & development at North Country HealthCare, now says his company wants to use that money, in part, to establish a new clinic in Lake Havasu City that would help the uninsured and underinsured and create jobs." [Today’s News-Herald, 4/5/09]

American Indian Communities in Arizona Will Receive $17 Million In Stimulus Funds For Transit Stimulus Funds. "Arizona is line for close to $101 million in stimulus funding for mass transit projects under the federal economic plan. That $101 million does not include another $17 million in transit stimulus money that will be sent to American Indian communities, several of which are based in Arizona…The U.S. Department of Transportation also announced that Indian tribes can apply for transit funds and states and regions can put in for $100 million in grants aimed at helping reduce emissions and energy usage." [Phoenix Business Journal, 3/24/09]

Arizona Department of Transportation Approved 41 Highway Projects to Receive Stimulus Funds; Projects Are Expected to Create 13,000 Jobs Statewide. Jobs and congestion relief are on the way. And the timing couldn't be better. Arizona's unemployment rate has risen to 7.4 percent, while the Legislature has slashed millions of dollars in freeway funding to balance the state budget. ‘The transportation projects supported by economic-recovery funds will benefit every Arizonan,’ Gov. Jan Brewer said… The state Transportation Board recently decided that 41 shovel-ready highway projects across Arizona can move forward with federal stimulus money, and of the five Maricopa County projects, four are in the West Valley and one is in the north Valley. The 41 selected projects are expected to create 13,000 jobs statewide. The five Maricopa County projects that will receive initial stimulus funding will bring 2,180 jobs to the Valley." [Arizona Republic, 3/22/09]

Stimulus Money May Ease Teacher Cuts At Paradise Valley Unified School District Schools. "The Paradise Valley Unified School District has been grappling with declining student enrollment and rising costs. Severe funding cuts from the state are making the situation worse. District officials are hoping that federal stimulus dollars will lessen the blow to the budget. So are we. Teacher positions are the likely targets during economic downturns. People make up the bulk of a school district's budget, so jobs take the biggest hit. Classroom positions outnumber others in the district, so teaching positions that are cut are always higher than those in administration. It makes sense on paper to ax classroom positions. But in the classrooms, nothing could be more detrimental. [Arizona Republic, 3/21/09]

Yuma County, Hit With 22.4% Unemployment, To Receive $4.5 Million in Stimulus Funds To Help Unemployed Find Jobs. "Help is coming for Yuma County's large number of unemployed, from disadvantaged teens to older workers who have lost their jobs because of the economic downturn. Yuma-area's workforce development efforts will be receiving $4.5 million in federal stimulus funding - an amount that will nearly double the Yuma Private Industry Council's budget for the year, said John Morales, executive director…" [Yuma Sun, 3/19/09]

Arizona Job Training Agency Will Receive Over $700,000 in Stimulus Funds to Help Job Seekers. "A regional agency that provides job training and other services for job seekers stands to receive more than $700,000 in federal stimulus money for Yavapai County. The Northern Arizona Association of Governments Yavapai Workforce Connection will receive an estimated $746,590 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Regional Director Teri Drew said Tuesday. Drew said the money is due to arrive by the end of the month, adding the amount is subject to change according to the jobless rate in the county. She added NACOG plans to use the stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Labor over a two-year period to expand existing services for job seekers, including laid-off workers and youth." [Camp Verde Bugle, 3/19/09]

Recovery Act Funds Will Enable Maricopa County Workforce Connections To Help Hundreds Of Additional Displaced Workers "Upgrade Their Skills For Future Employment." "About $7 million in federal stimulus money will enable Maricopa Workforce Connections to help hundreds more displaced workers upgrade their skills for future employment…Arizona will receive $42.85 million for work-force investment, and of that Maricopa Workforce Connections is estimated to receive about $7million, said Patrick Burkhart, assistant director of human services in the Workforce Division of Maricopa County. Maricopa Workforce Connections has two career centers in Maricopa County, one in Gilbert and the other in the West Valley. The Gilbert center offers skills assessment, career development and retraining, and placement services. Both offices have been flooded with displaced workers desperate to find other jobs and/or obtain training or certification to become qualified for more jobs, Burkhart said." [East Valley Tribune (AZ), 3/10/09]

Phoenix Will Receive $10.5 Million to Rehabilitate Sky Harbor International. Federal officials stopped in the Phoenix area on Thursday to announce $28 million in stimulus money would fund airport-construction projects throughout Arizona. The region will get $10.5 million of that to rehab a Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport taxiway. "We want to send a message that the president is serious about getting the economy restarted," said Ray LaHood, President Barack Obama's Transportation secretary…The $10.5 million will fund improvements to Taxiway C, on the airport's northern side. The work includes replacing asphalt with more-durable concrete, as well as installing new pavement marking, lighting and signs, according to a government news release. [AP, 3/27/09]