American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

WORKING TO REVITALIZE OUR ECONOMY

A comprehensive economic recovery effort must be balanced on a three-legged stool consisting of creating jobs, unfreezing credit markets, and addressing the housing crisis. Congress and the Obama administration made significant progress on the first leg of that stool, creating jobs, with the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The act represents a significant and essential step in stabilizing Michigan’s and the nation’s economy. The infrastructure projects will create Michigan jobs; the tax provisions will help Michigan families; and the investments in technology and modernization will pay dividends for years to come.

The impact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will have on Michigan is significant. It will provide a tax cut to 3.9 million Michigan workers and allow over 120,000 Michigan families to benefit from a tax credit to make college more affordable. It is estimated that it will create or save 3.5 million jobs nationwide over the next two years, including jobs in health care, clean energy and construction.

It will also strengthen the social safety net by increasing unemployment insurance benefits by $100 a month for over one million Michigan residents. The bill also provides for a $250 one-time payment to recipients of Social Security, Supplemental Security Insurance, Railroad Retirement, and Veterans Disability Compensation – money that we hope will be spent promptly and will help boost local businesses.

The act is expected to provide Michigan with approximately $1 billion dollars in highway and transit formula funds, allowing for significant repairs to roads and bridges and purchases of buses for our public transit authorities. There is additional funding that will hopefully result in investments in the Midwest High-Speed Rail corridor and improvements to Amtrak that can help bring commuter rail to Michigan.

The Recovery and Reinvestment Act also includes $4 billion in funding for Army Corps of Engineers projects, and I am hopeful that a portion will be directed toward the Great Lakes to address the backlog of ready-to-go projects and maintain this maritime highway that is so vital for the Midwest. I am also hopeful that the Environmental Protection Agency will direct a portion of funds it receives from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act to cleaning up contaminated sediment under the Great Lakes Legacy program.

Michigan is also slated to receive more than $150 million to address wastewater projects and $70 million to upgrade water mains, leaking pipes and water treatment plants. These projects immediately create jobs and play a critical role in protecting public health, improving the environment, and creating a sustainable and strong economic climate in which commerce can thrive.

I am especially pleased that the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act includes $2 billion in grants to encourage companies to invest in the development and production of advanced batteries and battery systems, which will fuel the energy efficient vehicles of the future and make it more likely they will be produced in U.S. factories.

The act will further help spur the development of these vehicles with significant measures to expand the American market for advanced technology vehicles. It will increase the availability of consumer tax credits for plug-in hybrid vehicles, helping America reach the goal set forth by President Obama of putting one million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015.

Recent News About the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

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FEDERAL resources

Across the government, federal agencies offer extensive information on their websites about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Check out the links below for more information.

Government-wide Websites

Cabinet Agencies' ARRA Websites

Other Federal Agencies' ARRA Websites

 

 

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michigan resources

Michigan's online source for information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can be found on the Governor's website, Michigan.gov.