The Recovery Act Blog

Recovery in Action: TN, CO, TX, LA, MS

Posted by Kori Schulman on June 8, 2009 at 10:50 AM EDT

Not too long after President Obama signed the Recovery Act into law, the stories started rolling in – stories about hard working folks that were able to keep their jobs and struggling communities that received funding to improve their schools and their roads. These are the kinds of stories we’ll be sharing with you on WhiteHouse.gov/Recovery – the Recovery Act in action in communities all across the country.

Tennessee [Tennessean, 6/2/09]:

"When Kenneth Wade lost her job making washing machine motors for General Electric in Murfreesboro, she knew a midlife career change was in order after 29 years on the assembly line. So, Wade, 52, has spent the last two years learning about computer programming to get an associate's degree in information technology — all at taxpayers' expense. Wade, whose job moved to India, was able to receive unemployment checks for two years and get a few other perks as part of a federal program that aids people whose employers shift their jobs overseas. And now, the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program is being expanded as part of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, a move that may double the annual cost of the federal program to $2 billion within five years. New rules cover a broader range of workers than simply those in the hard-hit manufacturing sector. Covered workers are able to qualify for unemployment checks for up to three years — or nearly twice as long as the typical worker who isn't affected by ‘off-shoring’ or the shift of jobs to foreign countries. Others get help paying health insurance costs. Also, starting in May, laid-off white-collar workers in service industries such as accounting, software development, auto-parts design and call center operations became eligible for the more generous benefits, a move that could add more workers to the rolls as unemployment in Tennessee flirts with the 10 percent level, a full percentage point above the U.S. rate."

Colorado [Cherry Creek News, 6/2/09]:

"Today, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) started a three-mile asphalt resurfacing project on Colfax Avenue (US 40) between Kipling Street and Sheridan Boulevard. The $4.7 million project is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and is one of two Recovery Act projects starting this week in the Denver metro area, bringing the total to four in Denver. ‘This is the second transportation infrastructure stimulus project to begin in the Seventh Congressional District. This project will improve a heavily used section of Colfax Avenue while creating and saving jobs for APC, a company in my district. This legislation continues to invest in our aging infrastructure while providing economic opportunities for many Coloradans,’ stated U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07). This segment of Colfax Avenue carries approximately 27,800 vehicles a day and is currently in poor condition. The rotomilling and asphalt paving will help extend the life of the pavement. In addition to paving, the project will repair and replace concrete curb and gutter and sidewalk."

Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana [Reuters, 6/2/09]:

"Willie Fort is a lucky man. Last month he came within a whisker of losing his construction job, but now he is off to Louisiana to work on a highway project that will employ him for at least two years. The 32-year-old father of four from Mississippi is among hundreds of construction workers who are either keeping their jobs or finding new employment as the U.S. government's record $787 billion package to jump-start the economy is slowly disbursed. His employer, Texas-based Austin Bridge and Road, bid for some of the stimulus-funded construction projects across the United States, saving Fort and several other employees from joining the country's growing ranks of unemployed. "We were getting ready to lay off about two dozen people on a project in Mississippi and as a result of having picked up one of the stimulus projects in Louisiana, we offered them all jobs," said Jim Andoga, the company's president. "We have not hired new people, but what this project did is to save 20 to 30 other jobs. The project is going to go into high gear in about three months and we are going to need to hire about 20 people more." Austin Bridge and Road has retained 12 to 15 white collar jobs. The company, which employs about 1,200 workers across the country, had been getting ready to lay off in the neighborhood of 50 to 60 white-collar and blue-collar workers, but these jobs were saved because of the stimulus, Andoga said. Rob Loch, owner of Loch Sand and Construction Company in Missouri, said he had rehired 15 laid-off workers after being awarded work to rebuild the interstate highway. "We anticipate in the next couple of weeks several more hires as well. Without this job, none of these people would have been called back," Loch told Reuters. AGCA's Simonson said about 85 percent of construction companies have indicated they were scrapping layoffs or adding new employees because of the stimulus funds."

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The Vice President on Business and Recovery

Posted by Katherine Brandon on June 2, 2009 at 6:50 PM EDT

Today Vice President Biden hosted a roundtable with business leaders, ranging from small business owners to corporate CEOs, to discuss how the Recovery Act is providing new opportunities for creativity and innovation in business.

In his opening remarks the Vice President discussed how, in addition to providing direct benefits to business owners, the Recovery Act also includes numerous tax credits that are helping to drive new product demand, including over a dozen energy-efficiency and renewable energy tax credits that are creating new opportunities for companies.

(Vice President Joe Biden takes part in a recovery act business roundtable with business leaders at Pace University in New York City, New York, Tuesday, June 2, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

John Berger, Founder and CEO of Standard Renewable Energy, was one of the business leaders who attended the roundtable. Previewing the roundtable, he gave a statement on how the Recovery Act has allowed his business to expand:

The Recovery Act provides innovative ways for businesses and consumers to save money while also investing in energy efficiency.

Because of the Recovery Act, our business is growing, not shrinking. We just opened a new office in Phoenix, and by year's end, our workforce will have grown over 70 percent.

Steve Chen, Executive Vice President of Crystal Window & Door Systems, Ltd., praised the Recovery Act’s emphasis on Energy-star rated products:

The Recovery Act is not just an injection of cash into the economy; it goes a long way in educating the public and changing perceptions about Energy-star and greener products – how homeowners can invest in their homes, the environment and the economy at the same time

Additionally, the Recovery Act allocated billions of dollars to develop and commercialize renewable energy sources. This has prompted companies to make targeted venture capital investments in companies that are developing the energy technology that will serve as the basis for economic recovery.

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Blogging to the Middle: For Green Jobs, the First Step is Training

Posted by Terrell McSweeny on June 2, 2009 at 11:48 AM EDT

Last Tuesday at the Fourth Middle Class Task Force Meeting in Denver, Vice President Biden announced a $500 million green jobs training program designed to connect people to opportunities in the clean energy economy.

(Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a middle class task force even at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature in Denver, Colorado, Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

For many, small investments in training in new technology can pay off. Tom Fittus was at the Task Force meeting. A licensed electrician, Tom was looking for a new job after his old employer’s business slowed down. He enrolled in a two week solar-specific job training course and was hired by Namaste Solar, a small business in Colorado that builds and designs solar electric systems. Tom’s boss Blake Jones said Tom’s course made him "stick out" when he was considering hiring Tom, and considers specialized green job training as a substantial competitive advantage for both job seekers and businesses. Blake has even increased Namaste’s workforce by 20% this year and plans on increasing it by 40% by 2010- with help from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Roby Roberts of Vestas America, a wind turbine manufacturer, also shared the story of his company. Vestas is investing $1.5 billion in manufacturing facilities in Colorado that will employ 2,500 people when in operation. After it is built, Vestas’s Pueblo plant will be using more than two Golden Gate Bridges of steel to build wind turbine towers every year. A barrier to expanding its operations in the United States is finding skilled workers. That’s why Vestas is training the workforce it will need in Pueblo through a partnership with the local community college.

(Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a middle class task force even at the Denver Museum of Science and Nature in Denver, Colorado, Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Garett Reppenhagen, a veteran who served as a sniper in Iraq and in Kosovo, was also at the Task Force meeting. Garett is a member of Veterans Green Jobs, an organization representing veterans of every branch of military who have enrolled in the Veterans Green Jobs Academy, a training and deployment program in energy efficiency and conservation. When these veterans graduate from their green jobs training on June 2nd, they will be leaders in green building, energy and renewable energies. As our troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, green jobs offer high paying opportunities for veterans that cannot be outsourced.

These are just three examples of why the $500 million green jobs training program is critical – whether to help someone update their skills so they can work on new technology like solar panels or to support the development of a skilled clean energy workforce to attract investment by renewable energy companies – investing in training is the first step toward expanding opportunities for the middle class in our clean energy economy.

Terrell McSweeny is Domestic Policy Advisor for the Vice President.

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Blogging to the Middle: 100 Days of Recovery

Posted by Jared Bernstein on June 1, 2009 at 3:27 PM EDT
It’s been just over 100 days since we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Which seemed to us here in middle-class-taskforce-land like a good time to remind folks of some of stuff in the Act providing much-needed help to middle-class families. For example:
- Jobs created by the ARRA are predicted to lower the unemployment rate by almost two percentage points. We expect this change to increase average middle-class incomes by over $1,300, or 2.3%.
- Depending on family type and circumstances, the tax benefits from the ARRA provisions can add $2,000 or more to after-tax family income.
- Combining job and tax effects, the ARRA will lift incomes by around $3,000 for many middle-class families, significantly offsetting their income losses over the recession.
- For middle-class families hit with spells of unemployment, tax credits and safety net expansion in the ARRA, combined with existing unemployment insurance programs, can replace much of the income loss that occurs when a wage-earner in the family loses his or her job.
For more info, see here. And if you just can’t get enough of dot.gov websites, don’t forget www.Recovery.gov, a sui generis exercise in transparency.

Jared Bernstein is the Vice President's chief economist and chief of staff for the Middle Class Task Force.
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Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence

Posted by Jesse Lee on May 29, 2009 at 5:35 PM EDT

Another update from Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, in the spirit of transparency as always:

I am writing with an update on the President’s March 20, 2009 Memorandum on Ensuring Responsible Spending of Recovery Act Funds. Section 3 of the Memorandum required all oral communications between federally registered lobbyists and government officials concerning Recovery Act policy to be disclosed on the Internet; barred registered lobbyists from having oral communications with government officials about specific Recovery Act projects or applications and instead required those communications to be in writing; and also required those written communications to be posted on the Internet. That Memorandum instructed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review the initial 60 days of implementation of the stimulus lobbying restrictions, to evaluate the data, and to recommend modifications.

Following OMB’s review, the Administration has decided to make a number of changes to the rules that we think make them even tougher on special interests and more focused on merits-based decision making.

First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists. For the first time, we will reach contacts not only by registered lobbyists but also by unregistered ones, as well as anyone else exerting influence on the process. We concluded this was necessary under the unique circumstances of the stimulus program.

Second, we will focus the restriction on oral communications to target the scenario where concerns about merit-based decision-making are greatest –after competitive grant applications are submitted and before awards are made. Once such applications are on file, the competition should be strictly on the merits. To that end, comments (unless initiated by an agency official) must be in writing and will be posted on the Internet for every American to see.

Third, we will continue to require immediate internet disclosure of all other communications with registered lobbyists. If registered lobbyists have conversations or meetings before an application is filed, a form must be completed and posted to each agency’s website documenting the contact.

OMB will be consulting with agencies, outside experts and others about these principles and will publish detailed guidance, but we wanted to update interested parties on the outcome of the initial review. We consulted very broadly both within and outside of government (including as reflected in previous posts on the White House blog) and we are grateful to all those who participated in the process.

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The President in Nevada: "We Come for the Sun"

Posted by Jesse Lee on May 27, 2009 at 5:23 PM EDT

This afternoon, on the 100^th Day since the President signed the Recovery Act, he joined Senate Leader Harry Reid, one of those most responsible for its passage, in his home state of Nevada at the Thunderbird Hangar at Nellis Air Force Base. The President noted in his remarks the Recovery Act has already saved or created more than 150,000 jobs, but just as the report issued this morning and even round-ups like the one here today show, taking a closer look at how individual projects and initiatives affect real communities is the only way to really appreciate the impact the Recovery Act will have:

You know, it's always a pleasure to get out of Washington a little bit. Washington is okay, but it's nice taking some time to talk to Americans of every walk of life outside of the nation's capital. And there's nothing like a quick trip to Vegas in the middle of the week. (Applause.) Like millions of other Americans, we come to this beautiful city for the sights and for the sounds -- and today we come for the sun.

Because right now, we're standing near the largest solar electric plant of its kind in the entire Western Hemisphere -- the entire Western Hemisphere. More than 72,000 solar panels built on part of an old landfill provide 25 percent of the electricity for the 12,000 people who live and work here at Nellis. That's the equivalent of powering about 13,200 homes during the day.

It's a project that took about half a year to complete, created 200 jobs, and will save the United States Air Force, which is the largest consumer of energy in the federal government, nearly $1 million -- $1 million a year. It will also reduce harmful carbon pollution by 24,000 tons per year, which is the equivalent of removing 4,000 cars from our roads. Most importantly, this base serves as a shining example of what's possible when we harness the power of clean, renewable energy to build a new, firmer foundation for economic growth.

Now, that's the kind of foundation we're trying to build all across America. One hundred days ago, in the midst of the worst economic crisis in half a century, we passed the most sweeping economic recovery act in history -- a plan designed to save jobs, create new ones, and put money in people's pockets. It's a plan designed not only to revive the economy in the short term, but to rebuild the economy over the long term. It's a plan that we passed thanks to the tireless efforts of Harry Reid and Congresswoman Berkley and Congresswoman Titus and all the other outstanding public servants in Washington.

(The President visits Nellis Air Force Base, in Las Vegas, Nevada May 27, 2009. Obama marked the 100th day of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by highlighting the development and use of geothermal and solar energy. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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