America Is On The Road To Recovery

One Year After The Recovery Act, America Is On The Road To Recovery.  Below is a graph prepared by the Speaker's office showing job losses per month:

[Office of the Speaker, accessed 2/17/10]

The Recovery Act Has Created Up To 2.4 Million American Jobs

CBO: The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Has Created Up To 2.4 Million American Jobs. According to CNN: "The Congressional Budget Office attributes between 800,000 to 2.4 million jobs and 1.2 to 3.1 percentage points of economic growth to stimulus." [CNN, 1/13/10]

The Recovery Act Cut Taxes For 95% Of Working Families

The Recovery Act Cut Taxes For 95% Of Working Families.  According to PolitiFact.com:

Under the stimulus bill, single workers got $400, and working couples got $800. The Internal Revenue Service issued new guidelines to reduce withholdings for income tax, so many workers saw a small increase in their checks in April 2009.

The tax cut was part of Obama's campaign promises. During the campaign, Obama said he wanted $500 for each worker and $1,000 for working couples. Since the final number was a bit less than he promised, we rated his promise a Compromise on our Obameter, where we rate Obama's campaign promises for fulfillment.

During the campaign, the independent Tax Policy Center researched how Obama's tax proposals would affect workers. It concluded 94.3 percent of workers would receive a tax cut under Obama's plan based on the tax credit to offset payroll taxes. According to the analysis, the people who wouldn't get a tax cut are those who make more than $250,000 for couples or $200,000 for a single person. [PolitiFact.com, accessed 2/17/10]

The Recovery Act Has Saved Millions Of Americans From Poverty

CBPP: Recovery Act Is Keeping 6 Million Americans Out Of Poverty. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Although meant chiefly to help the broad economy, the stimulus plan Congress enacted earlier this year (the American Recovery and Re-Investment Act of 2009, or ARRA) had the important secondary effect of significantly ameliorating the recession's impact on poverty. This analysis, which comes one day before the Census Bureau will release updated poverty figures (for 2008), examines seven of the recovery act's provisions -- two improvements in unemployment insurance, three tax credits for working families, an increase in food stamps, and a one-time payment for retirees, veterans, and people with disabilities -- and finds that they alone are preventing more than 6 million Americans from falling below the poverty line and are reducing the severity of poverty for 33 million more. Those 6 million people include more than 2 million children and over 500,000 seniors. This analysis includes state-specific estimates for California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois." [CBPP, 9/9/09]

The Recovery Act Invested Billions In Creating A Clean Energy Economy

The Recovery Act Provided $2.4 Billion In Grants To Accelerate Manufacturing And Deployment Of Electric Vehicles.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy: "Further accelerating the manufacturing and deployment of electric vehicles, batteries, and components here in America, and creating tens of thousands of new jobs, President Obama today announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy, will accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles, helping to establish American leadership in creating the next generation of advanced vehicles." [DOE, 8/5/09]

The Recovery Act Provided $3.2 Billion For Energy Efficiency And Conservation Grants.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy: "Over $2.7 billion in formula grants are now available to U.S. states, territories, local governments, and Indian tribes under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, funded for the first time under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This Program, authorized in Title V, Subtitle E of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and signed into Public Law (PL 110-140) on December 19, 2007, provides funds to units of local and state government, Indian tribes, and territories to develop and implement projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions in their communities." [DOE, accessed 2/17/10]

The Recovery Act Provided $5 Billion For The Weatherization Assistance Program.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy: "The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program will distribute $5 billion to the states under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009." [DOE, accessed 2/17/10]

Click HERE to see more examples of the Recovery Act investing in a clean energy economy.

The Recovery Act Is Rebuilding America's Crumbling Highways, Roads, And Bridges

The Recovery Act Is Creating Jobs And Rebuilding America's Crumbling Highways, Roads, and Bridges. According to a report released by the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials:

During the first year of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, states and transit agencies have produced real jobs and real improvements to the nation's transportation infrastructure.

State departments of transportation have shown that they can get the job done, on time and under budget.

The Facts*:

• As of December 31, $26.4 billion, or 77 percent of the $34.3 billion provided for highways and transit, has been put out to bid on 12,250 projects.
• Within this total, 10,600 projects (totaling $22.6 billion) are under contract.
• Across the nation, work has begun on 9,240 projects totaling $20.6 billion-that is 60 percent of the total available highway and transit formula funds.
• Work has been completed on 3,150 projects.
• The Federal Highway Administration reports that as of January 29,
  • 11,100 highway projects have won federal approval to proceed;
  • 7,050 highway projects are under contract or ready to proceed; and
  • 2,140 projects are already completed.
• As of February 4, the Federal Transit Administration reported:
  • It had obligated $7.23 billion of its recovery funding to over 700 projects, nearly 87 percent of available funding.
  • Another 220 project applications, valued at $1.07 billion were under review. If approved, FTA will have distributed $8.3 billion to over 920 projects nationwide.
• Bids have come in across the country at 10% to 30% under estimates, leading to more work being accomplished.

State Improvements Are Leading to Long-Lasting Results
As of January 7, 2010:

• 1,125 bridges had been improved, replace or newly constructed
• 21,400 miles of pavement were either improved, resurfaced or widened
• 1,700 miles of safety traffic management projects were implemented
• Over 630 miles of bike lanes, sidewalks or environmental mitigation projects were underway
• 7,450 buses have been purchased and 1,637 bus shelters constructed

Real People Are Working Real Jobs

• 280,000 direct, on-project jobs have been created or sustained across the country
  • Total employment from these projects, which includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs, reaches almost 890,000 jobs.

* Data supplied by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, based on state reporting. Other data from FHWA, FTA, FRA [AASHTO, Projects and Paychecks, accessed 2/17/10]