Wyoming

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

IMPACT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES ON WYOMING

Working Families:

  • Making Work Pay: The President’s tax-cut – which covers more Americans than any in history – is putting more than $100 million back in the pockets of more than 200,000 hard-working Wyoming families.
  • $2,586,525 to support child care for working families.

Energy:

  • $12,019,800 in block grants to foster energy efficiency in building, transportation, and a wide range of other improvements.
  • $10,239,261 to support the weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment.
  • $24,941,000 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:

  • $151,372,067 potentially available to Wyoming 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:

  • $764,943 to expand services at 5 existing Community Health Centers, which will expand service to an additional 3,312 patients and create or save a projected12 jobs.
  • $485,000 to provide meals to low-income seniors.
  • $15,922,133 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.
  • $409,026 in vaccines and grants to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need.

Transportation:

  • $157,616,058 in highway funds to help build and repair roads and bridges.
  • $9,300,398 to repair and build public transportation infrastructure.
  • $8.6 million to address airport safety and security, infrastructure, runway safety, increased capacity, and mitigation of environmental impacts.

Law Enforcement:

  • More than $4.9 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 WYOMING

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

Stimulus Funds Will Be Used to Widen Highway 14A. "More than $13 million in federal economic stimulus funding will be applied to work on a 3.5-mile segment of the Powell Highway this summer. Sandy Scott, secretary for the Wyoming Transportation Commission in Cheyenne, said $13.4 million of the $157 million anticipated by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) for road work around the state will be used to widen the next segment of US 14A between Powell and Cody. Funding comes through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which set aside $26.6 billion nationwide for highway improvements… Work will begin north of the Road 19 turnoff to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center site and end near milepost 14. The road will be widened to five lanes, consistent with earlier Powell Highway work. A WYDOT spokesman said that while the exact construction schedule is undetermined, paving could be completed by the end of 2009 with a final chip seal applied to the road in spring 2010. That would put the project several months ahead of schedule." [Cody Enterprise, 3/13/09]

Stimulus Funding Will Help County Complete Route from Jackson to Gros Ventre River. "A Teton County pathway project will receive $300,000 to complete a route from Jackson to the Gros Ventre River in Grand Teton National Park. On Thursday, the Wyoming Department of Transportation Commission approved $300,000 of federal economic stimulus money for the first phase of the pathway along Highway 89 north of Jackson. Tim Young, director of Friends of Pathways, said the stimulus money likely will provide the final funding needed to finish the path. Teton County has won competitive federal grants totaling $3 million, but Young said that money was just shy of what it will take to finish the project. ‘This stimulus funding helps bridge the gap,’ he said." [Jackson Hole Daily, 3/23/09]