Nevada

To: Interested Parties
Fr: White House Communications
Da: April 22, 2009
Re: The Obama-Biden economic plan: creating jobs, strengthening the economy for Nevada 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 Nevada in the first three months of his administration.

IMPACT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES ON NEVADA

Working Families:

  • Making Work Pay: The President’s tax-cut – which covers more Americans than any in history – is putting more than $500 million back in the pockets of more than 1 million hard-working Nevada families.
  • $14,315,336 to support child care for working families.

Energy:

  • $31,983,500 in block grants to foster energy efficiency in building, transportation, and a wide range of other improvements.
  • $37,281,937 to support the weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment.
  • $34,714,000 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:

  • $570,003,540 potentially available to Nevada 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:

  • $478,135 to fund 1 new Community Health Center, which will serve an estimated 2,770 patients and create a projected 20 jobs.
  • $1,464,164 to expand services at 2 existing Community Health Centers, which will expand service to an additional 6,432 patients and create or save a projected 17 jobs.
  • $736,545 to provide meals to low-income seniors.
  • $90,310,490 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.
  • $1,821,106 in vaccines and grants to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need.

Transportation:

  • $201,352,460 in highway funds to help build and repair roads and bridges.
  • $49,463,771 to repair and build public transportation infrastructure.
  • More than $20 million to address airport safety and security, infrastructure, runway safety, increased capacity, and mitigation of environmental impacts.

Law Enforcement:

  • More than $22.9 million 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 NEVADA

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

Stimulus-Funded Reno Transportation Project Will Create 700 New Jobs. "The Nevada Department of Transportation's Board of Directors approved which state road projects will be funded using federal stimulus dollars. Transportation officials decided, Thursday, to invest $27 million from the Obama administration's stimulus package in the Meadowood Interchange project in Reno. The Regional Transportation Commission convinced the transportation board that it can begin the project within 100 days, creating 700 new jobs. [KRNV-TV, 3/17/09]

Nevada Will Receive Stimulus Funding to Weatherize Homes and Train 3,200 Workers for Green Jobs. "The federal economic stimulus will send Nevada about $37 million to weatherize buildings and homes and another $28 million to train workers for green jobs, Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said Friday. The Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee unanimously voted to move forward with Horsford’s bill, SB152, which would set guidelines for how to spend federal economic stimulus money meant to create ‘green jobs.’ Horsford said Nevada could get training for at least 3,200 unemployed or underemployed workers, and provide money to weatherize low-income housing, schools and public buildings." [Las Vegas Sun, 3/22/09]

Reno Airport Will Receive $2.2 Million in Stimulus Funding, Employing 80 to 100. The Reno/Tahoe International Airport is getting $2.2 million in federal stimulus funds to improve surfaces near the terminals. Airport spokeswoman Heidi Berthold says the money will be used for the ramp areas where airplanes pull up to the terminals for passengers to board and exit planes. Berthold says some of the pavement near the terminals is about 20 years old. Berthold says between 80 and 100 people will have jobs because of the contract. [AP, 3/29/09]

List From The Nevada Department Of Transportation Details Nearly $210 Million Worth Of "Shovel-Ready" Transportation Projects. "…according to a list circulated Wednesday by officials detailing how the Nevada Department of Transportation expects the federal stimulus money to be spent. The preliminary list accounts for $209.4 million in ‘shovel ready’ transportation projects, of which $109 million, or 52 percent, will be used for projects in Clark County. About $27.6 million, or 13 percent, will be spent in Washoe County. The remaining $72.8 million -- about 35 percent -- will be spent in rural counties, including Pershing, Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Nye and Carson City. Nevada received $201 million for transportation projects from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." [Las Vegas Review Journal, 3/5/09]

Washoe County Ready to Spend $37.6M of Stimulus Money on Constructing Interchange Between Hwy 395 to Meadowood Mall, Creating 1200 Jobs. "The project on the list that slants the percentage in Washoe's favor is construction of an interchange from U.S. Highway 395 to Meadowood Mall in Reno. To help fund that $50 million project, the Transportation Department planned on using $37.6 million from the state's share of the stimulus funding, according to the preliminary list. The remaining money would come from the Washoe metropolitan planning organization. The project is ‘shovel ready.’ In other words it just needs money so construction can start. Transportation officials believe the two-year project could create 1,200 jobs. While there is a much needed interchange in Southern Nevada -- the Cactus interchange off of Interstate 15 in the southern valley -- that project is still in the design phase and won't be ‘shovel ready’ for another couple of years. But the Transportation Department can't wait that long because of time limits imposed on Nevada. Half the money must be spent in 120 days or it goes back to Congress." [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3/1/09]

Sen. Reid’s Office Put on Seminar for Business Owners on How to Benefit from ARRA Projects; Small Construction Firm Partner Noted, "We Are Getting the Chance to Find Out How to Tap Into These Funds and For Our Business, Being Able to Hire Other People." "Thousands of people and several company representatives flooded a seminar on how to get a share of the government stimulus money. The event was put together by Senator Harry Reid to help Nevadans tap the $1.5 billion earmarked for the state. The money comes in different forms, from grants to loans. It also has been divided up into categories, like renewable energy, health, and even for general small businesses. The interest in the room proved businesses have not given up on Las Vegas. Representatives from universities and private companies lined up to see how to get a share of the stimulus money set aside for Nevada. Marcus House and his partner Donnell Wallace hope to take advantage of the money right away. They have a construction business called Comrez International that retrofits homes to be more energy efficient, as well as a concrete paving company. ‘Hopefully it will guide us into something. Being small, getting the loans, getting the funding, all of that has been the obstacle,’ said House. ‘We are getting the chance to find out how to tap into these funds and for our business, being able to hire other people,’ said Wallace. At the moment the two do everything themselves. They would like to expand and hire other workers, but to do that, they need more work. The stimulus money may be just the financial boost." [CBS Channel 8 (Las Vegas, NV), 4/16/09 - WITH VIDEO]

Nevada Counties Ready To Spend Stimulus Dollars on Repaving Roads. "An updated list shows Clark County, Nevada's largest, is now in line for just over half of the federal stimulus funds for highway projects while the second-biggest county, Washoe, could get 13 percent of the money... The balance would be spent in rural counties, including Pershing, Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Nye and Carson City. Nearly all of the projects on the latest list are paving jobs. Transportation officials have focused on such jobs because they can be put out to bid quickly and meet deadlines imposed by the stimulus act. Many of the projects must be out to bid within 120 days of President Obama's signing the stimulus law, which he did on Feb. 17." [AP, 3/5/09]

Las Vegas Sun (Lisa Mascaro) "Reno health care center to get federal aid:" A health care center in Reno will receive $478,135 being released today from President Barack Obama’s economic recovery package, the White House said this afternoon. Health Access Washoe County in Reno is among 126 health centers receiving $155 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law last month. The centers provide health care to 750,000 low-income people nationwide. The money for the Reno-area center will help to create 20 jobs and serve 2,770 Nevadans, according to the White House. LINK

Stimulus Funds Will Create 20 Tree-Planting and Wildfire-Prevention Jobs in Lincoln County. "The Legislative Interim Finance Committee today approved what would be the first Nevada jobs paid for by the federal stimulus package. At a cost of $700,000, 20 people will be hired to plant trees in state parks and clear brush for fire protection along state Route 319 and in the town of Pioche. The contract is to last 18 months. The workers would be paid the federal prevailing wage in Lincoln County -- anywhere from $30 to $50 an hour. Assemblyman Joseph Hogan, D-Las Vegas, called the jobs the ‘first boots on the ground’ in putting people to work in a state where unemployment is above 10 percent. In Lincoln County the jobless rate in February was 7.4 percent." [Las Vegas Sun, 3/24/09]

Nevada Will Receive $25 Million In Job Training Programs. "Nevada workforce training programs will get a $25 million infusion of cash from the federal stimulus package. Director of Administration Andrew Clinger said the money is part of the stimulus unemployment funding and will come in three separate contracts to provide training to adults, young people and adults who have been ‘dislocated.’ That more than doubles the roughly $15 million the state already gets for those programs. Nevada Works in the north and the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board in the south funnel the money to organizations that provide job skills training for workers…Adult training programs will get $3,392,179, juvenile training programs will receive $7,570,212 and programs for adults who have lost jobs $14,311,733 under the contracts approved Tuesday." [Nevada Appeal, 4/1/09]

 

Nevada Lawmakers Voted To Accept $35 Million In Federal Stimulus Funds For K-12 Schools That Have A High-Percentage Of Low-Income Students. "Nevada lawmakers voted Wednesday to accept $35 million in federal stimulus funds for K-12 schools that have a high percentage of students from low-income families. Education officials told a Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee that they wanted to quickly distribute the funds, part of a total $87 million in stimulus funds expected for such schools, but lawmakers urged caution. ‘If these dollars don't get used right it's a huge missed opportunity for our children,’ said Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas. ‘I recognize the pressure that you all are under to meet your budget cuts,’ Horsford added. ‘I would hope that pressure wouldn't cause you to keep these dollars, and use them in a way that wouldn't be in the best possible way for those schools.’ Lawmakers told school district officials to use the money creatively, and asked them to work with the Legislature and the public to decide how the money should be spent. They also asked for reports on improved student performance…Haldeman added that school officials are waiting to find out whether they can use federal stimulus funding to prevent layoffs. ‘They're kind of like starving people waiting for the food supplies to be dropped off,’ Haldeman said…The panel also voted to accept over $500,000 in stimulus funds for the Homeless Children and Youth Grant. The grant helps schools provide health referrals, transportation assistance, after-school mentoring and a host of services to homeless children. State schools chief Keith Rheault said the number of homeless students rose to over 6,000 statewide, adding, ‘A lot more of the students are becoming homeless.’" [San Jose Mercury News, 4/16/09]