Oklahoma

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

IMPACT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES ON OKLAHOMA

Working Families:

  • Making Work Pay: The President’s tax-cut – which covers more Americans than any in history – is putting more than $700 million back in the pockets of more than 1.3 million hard-working Oklahoma families.
  • $30,158,651 to support child care for working families.

Energy:

  • $27,172,500 in block grants to foster energy efficiency in building, transportation, and a wide range of other improvements.
  • $60,903,196 to support the weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment.
  • $46,704,000 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:

  • 896,103,804 dollars potentially available to Oklahoma 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:

  • $7,800,000 to fund 6 new Community Health Centers, which will serve an estimated 42,640 patients and create a projected 315 jobs
  • $3,216,626 to expand services at 17 existing Community Health Centers, which will expand service to an additional 30,136 patients and create or save a projected 79 jobs.
  • $1,170,545 to provide meals to low-income seniors.
  • $174,758,013 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.
  • $2,153,981 in vaccines and grants to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need.

Transportation:

  • $464,655,225 in highway funds to help build and repair roads and bridges.
  • $39,163,565 to repair and build public transportation infrastructure.

Law Enforcement:

  • More than $26.1 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 OKLAHOMA

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

Recovery Act Will Help Weatherize 400 Oklahoma Homes. "Part of the money from the federal economic stimulus package has reached Enid already. Cheri Ezzell said the weatherization program operated by Community Development Support Association for 20 years will have much more money this year than it has in the past. While the program could only complete about 20 houses a year in the past, she said, this year it will be able to complete about 400 and will be able to spend more money on each house. About $500,000 will be dispensed in Enid this year as part of $5 billion contained in the stimulus package for national projects like CDSA’s weatherization program." [Enid News & Eagle, 3/2/09]

Stimulus Funding Will Weatherize As Many Homes in One Year as CDSA Has In Its Entire History. "Ezzell said she is excited about it because CDSA has weatherized about 400 homes in the past 20 years and will be able to do 400 homes in one year with the additional funds. ‘I like the idea of taking a program that is already in place and successful and do more with it,’ she said." [Enid News & Eagle (Oklahoma), 3/2/09]

Oklahoma Will Use Federal Stimulus Money to Help Repair Seven High-Hazard Dams. "The state will use federal stimulus money to help repair seven high-hazard dams in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Conservation Commission says Oklahoma will get about $14 million to repair the dams and the state will provide a 35 percent match. High-hazard dams are those that — if they break — would kill people. Three of the dams to be repaired are in Pontotoc County, two are in Caddo County and one each is in Adair and Kingfisher counties." [AP, 4/20/09]

Tulsa World: $7.8 million in stimulus for state’s health centers Oklahoma will receive $7.8 million in federal stimulus funding to support health centers that serve people with no insurance and others in need, the Obama administration announced Monday. Roughly 42,000 Oklahomans are expected to be served, with about 315 jobs created at the centers. President Barack Obama announced the release of $155 million authorized by the huge stimulus package he signed into law last month. That money will support 126 new health centers across the country. LINK

Oklahoma Received $1.2 Million in Stimulus Aid To Help Feed Elderly, Expand SNAP Program. "The White House has released almost $1.2 million to help provide meals to low-income elderly Oklahomans as part of the federal stimulus package. George Johnson, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, said the money will be dispatched to area aging-services agencies, which contract to provide meals to the elderly in their homes and at senior citizens centers and other locations. The release of the money was announced Wednesday in Washington by Vice President Joe Biden. Johnson said the funds will allow an expansion of services in some areas and help agencies deal with rising costs. He said about 17,000 meals a day are currently being served statewide under the program. "We have a growing elderly population in Oklahoma so this program will probably only expand as the number of people who need congregate or home delivery meal services increases over the next several years," he said. The state agency also has announced that because of the stimulus, Oklahomans served by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will have more buying power at the grocery store in April. The federal law raised maximum allotments for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, by 13.6 percent, or about $6.5 million in Oklahoma. "This is good news not only for the families who receive the benefit, but also for Oklahoma retailers and the state's economy," said Kathie Wright, the manager of the program." [AP, 3/18/09]

 

Tinker Air Force Base and Other Oklahoma Military Installations Will Receive $74 Million in Stimulus Funds for Maintenance and Construction Projects and Upgrading Anti-Terrorism Programs. "Tinker Air Force Base will get more than $44 million in federal stimulus funds to make a variety of repairs and improvements. Tinker led all of the state’s military installations in projects approved by the Department of Defense, which got $7.4 billion to spend in the $780 billion stimulus package. In all, the department plans to spend nearly $74 million in Oklahoma, according to a list of projects released by the Pentagon. Of the 67 projects, 42 are at Tinker. They range from roof repairs to anti-terrorism protection upgrades for buildings and at base gates. Ron Mullan, a Tinker spokesman, said the projects selected by the Defense Department came from a list of 71 submitted by base officials." [The Oklahoman, 3/30/09]