SUMMARY: AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT



The economy is in a crisis not seen since the Great Depression.

Credit is frozen, consumer purchasing power is in decline, in the last
four months the country has lost 2 million jobs and we are expected to
lose another 3 to 5 million in the next year.

Conservative economist Mark Zandi was blunt: “the economy is shutting
down.”

In the next two weeks, the Congress will be considering the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. This package is the first
crucial step in a concerted effort to create and save 3 to 4 million
jobs, jumpstart our economy, and begin the process of transforming it
for the 21st century with $275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts
and $550 billion in thoughtful and carefully targeted priority
investments with unprecedented accountability measures built in.

The package contains targeted efforts in:
· Clean, Efficient, American Energy

· Transforming our Economy with Science and Technology

· Modernizing Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways

· Education for the 21st Century

· Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create Jobs

· Lowering Healthcare Costs

· Helping Workers Hurt by the Economy

· Saving Public Sector Jobs and Protect Vital Services


The economy is in such trouble that, even with passage of this
package, unemployment rates are expected to rise to between eight and
nine percent this year. Without this package, we are warned that
unemployment could explode to near twelve percent. With passage of
this package, we will face a large deficit for years to come. Without
it, those deficits will be devastating and we face the risk of
economic chaos. Tough choices have been made in this legislation and
fiscal discipline will demand more tough choices in years to come.

Since 2001, as worker productivity went up, 96% of the income growth
in this country went to the wealthiest 10% of society. While they
were benefitting from record high worker productivity, the remaining
90% of Americans were struggling to sustain their standard of living.
They sustained it by borrowing… and borrowing… and borrowing, and when
they couldn’t borrow anymore, the bottom fell out. This plan will
strengthen the middle class, not just Wall Street CEOs and special
interests in Washington.

Our short term task is to try to prevent the loss of millions of jobs
and get our economy moving. The long term task is to make the needed
investments that restore the ability of average middle income families
to increase their income and build a decent future for their children.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


Unprecedented Accountability: A historic level of transparency,
oversight and accountability will help guarantee taxpayer dollars are
spent wisely and Americans can see results for their investment.

· In many instances funds are distributed through existing
formulas to programs with proven track records and accountability
measures already in place.

· How funds are spent, all announcements of contract and grant
competitions and awards, and formula grant allocations must be posted
on a special website created by the President. Program managers will
also be listed so the public knows who to hold accountable.

· Public notification of funding must include a description of
the investment funded, the purpose, the total cost and why the
activity should be funded with recovery dollars. Governors, mayors or
others making funding decisions must personally certify that the
investment has been fully vetted and is an appropriate use of taxpayer
dollars. This will also be placed on the recovery website.

· A Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board will be
created to review management of recovery dollars and provide early
warning of problems. The seven member board includes Inspectors
General and Deputy Cabinet secretaries.

· The Government Accountability Office and the Inspectors
General are provided additional funding and access for special review
of recovery funding.

· Federal and state whistleblowers who report fraud and abuse
are protected.

· There are no earmarks in this package.



This plan targets investments to key areas that will create and
preserve good jobs at the same time as it is strengthening the ability
of this economy to become more efficient and produce more
opportunities for employment.



Clean, Efficient, American Energy: To put people back to work today
and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will strengthen
efforts directed at doubling renewable energy production and renovate
public buildings to make them more energy efficient.
· $32 billion to transform the nation’s energy transmission,
distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and
better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.

· $16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy
efficiency retrofits.

· $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.


Transform our Economy with Science and Technology: We need to put
scientists to work looking for the next great discovery, creating jobs
in cutting-edge-technologies, and making smart investments that will
help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy. For
every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return
on that investment.
· $10 billion for science facilities, research, and
instrumentation.

· $6 billion to expand broadband internet access so businesses
in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy.


Modernize Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways: To build a 21st
century economy, we must engage contractors across the nation to
create jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, modernize
public buildings, and put people to work cleaning our air, water and
land.

· $30 billion for highway construction;

· $31 billion to modernize federal and other public
infrastructure with investments that lead to long term energy cost
savings;

· $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental
restoration investments;

· $10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion
and gas consumption.



Education for the 21st Century: To enable more children to learn in
21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries to help our kids compete
with any worker in the world, this package provides:
· $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13
billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair
Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1
billion).
· $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key
services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public
colleges and universities distributed through existing state and
federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward
for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for
other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical
services, which may include education.
· $15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500.

· $6 billion for higher education modernization.



Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create Jobs: We will provide direct tax
relief to 95 percent of American workers, and spur investment and job
growth for American Businesses. [marked up by the Ways and Means
Committee]

Lower Healthcare Costs: To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we
will update and computerize our healthcare system to cut red tape,
prevent medical mistakes, and help reduce healthcare costs by billions
of dollars each year.
· $20 billion for health information technology to prevent
medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce cost-
saving efficiencies.

· $4.1 billion to provide for preventative care and to evaluate
the most effective healthcare treatments.



Help Workers Hurt by the Economy: High unemployment and rising costs
have outpaced Americans’ paychecks. We will help workers train and
find jobs, and help struggling families make ends meet.

· $43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job
training.

· $39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping
them to pay the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare
under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.

· $20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in
order to help defray rising food costs.



Save Public Sector Jobs and Protect Vital Services: We will provide
relief to states, so they can continue to employ teachers,
firefighters and police officers and provide vital services without
having to unnecessarily raise middle class taxes.
· $87 billion for a temporary increase in the Medicaid matching
rate.

· $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding.







DETAILED SUMMARY



CREATE JOBS WITH CLEAN, EFFICIENT, AMERICAN ENERGY
To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign
oil tomorrow, we will make investments aimed at doubling renewable
energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more
energy efficient. America’s energy shortcomings present a huge
opportunity to put people to work in ways that will transform our
economy.

· Reliable, Efficient Electricity Grid: $11 billion for
research and development, pilot projects, and federal matching funds
for the Smart Grid Investment Program to modernize the electricity
grid making it more efficient, secure, and reliable and build new
power lines to transmit clean, renewable energy from sources
throughout the nation.

· Renewable Energy Loan Guarantees: $8 billion for loans for
renewable energy power generation and transmission projects.

· GSA Federal Buildings: $6.7 billion for renovations and
repairs to federal buildings including at least $6 billion focused on
increasing energy efficiency and conservation. Projects are selected
based on GSA’s ready-to-go priority list.

· Local Government Energy Efficiency Block Grants: $6.9 billion
to help state and local governments make investments that make them
more energy efficient and reduce carbon emissions.

· Energy Efficiency Housing Retrofits: $2.5 billion for a new
program to upgrade HUD sponsored low-income housing to increase energy
efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and furnaces. Funds
will be competitively awarded.

· Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Research: $2 billion
for energy efficiency and renewable energy research, development,
demonstration, and deployment activities to foster energy
independence, reduce carbon emissions, and cut utility bills. Funds
are awarded on a competitive basis to universities, companies, and
national laboratories.

· Advanced Battery Loans and Grants: $2 billion for the
Advanced Battery Loan Guarantee and Grants Program, to support U.S.
manufacturers of advanced vehicle batteries and battery systems.
America should lead the world in transforming the way automobiles are
powered.

· Energy Efficiency Grants and Loans for Institutions: $1.5
billion for energy sustainability and efficiency grants and loans to
help school districts, institutes of higher education, local
governments, and municipal utilities implement projects that will make
them more energy efficient.

· Home Weatherization: $6.2 billion to help low-income families
reduce their energy costs by weatherizing their homes and make our
country more energy efficient.

· Smart Appliances: $300 million to provide consumers with
rebates for buying energy efficient Energy Star products to replace
old appliances, which will lower energy bills.

· GSA Federal Fleet: $600 million to replace older vehicles
owned by the federal government with alternative fuel automobiles that
will save on fuel costs and reduce carbon emissions.

· Electric Transportation: $200 million for a new grant program
to encourage electric vehicle technologies.

· Cleaning Fossil Energy: $2.4 billion for carbon capture and
sequestration technology demonstration projects. This funding will
provide valuable information necessary to reduce the amount of carbon
dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from industrial facilities and
fossil fuel power plants.

· Department of Defense Research: $350 million for research
into using renewable energy to power weapons systems and military bases.

· Alternative Buses and Trucks: $400 million to help state and
local governments purchase efficient alternative fuel vehicles to
reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions.

· Industrial Energy Efficiency: $500 million for energy
efficient manufacturing demonstration projects.

Diesel Emissions Reduction: $300 million for grants and loans to state
and local governments for projects that reduce diesel emissions,
benefiting public health and reducing global warming. This includes
technologies to retrofit emission exhaust systems on school buses,
replace engines and vehicles, and establish anti-idling programs. 70%
of the funds go to competitive grants and 30% funds grants to states
with approved programs. Last year EPA was able to fund only 27% of
the applications received.



TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY WITH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
We need to put scientists to work looking for the next great
discovery, creating jobs in cutting-edge technologies and making smart
investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a
global economy.

Broadband to Give Every Community Access to the Global Economy
· Wireless and Broadband Grants: $6 billion for broadband and
wireless services in underserved areas to strengthen the economy and
provide business and job opportunities in every section of America
with benefits to e-commerce, education, and healthcare. For every
dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on
that investment.

Scientific Research
· National Science Foundation: $3 billion, including $2 billion
for expanding employment opportunities in fundamental science and
engineering to meet environmental challenges and to improve global
economic competitiveness, $400 million to build major research
facilities that perform cutting edge science, $300 million for major
research equipment shared by institutions of higher education and
other scientists, $200 million to repair and modernize science and
engineering research facilities at the nation’s institutions of higher
education and other science labs, and $100 million is also included to
improve instruction in science, math and engineering.

· National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research: $2
billion, including $1.5 billion for expanding good jobs in biomedical
research to study diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer,
and heart disease - NIH is currently able to fund less than 20% of
approved applications – and $500 million to implement the repair and
improvement strategic plan developed by the NIH for its campuses.

· University Research Facilities: $1.5 billion for NIH to
renovate university research facilities and help them compete for
biomedical research grants. The National Science Foundation estimates
a maintenance backlog of $3.9 billion in biological science research
space. Funds are awarded competitively.

· Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: $462 million to
enable CDC to complete its Buildings and Facilities Master Plan, as
well as renovations and construction needs of the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health.

· Department of Energy: $1.9 billion for basic research into
the physical sciences including high-energy physics, nuclear physics,
and fusion energy sciences and improvements to DOE laboratories and
scientific facilities. $400 million is for the Advanced Research
Project Agency – Energy to support high-risk, high-payoff research
into energy sources and energy efficiency.

· NASA: $600 million, including $400 million to put more
scientists to work doing climate change research, including Earth
science research recommended by the National Academies, satellite
sensors that measure solar radiation critical to understanding climate
change, and a thermal infrared sensor to the Landsat Continuing Mapper
necessary for water management, particularly in the western states;
$150 million for research, development, and demonstration to improve
aviation safety and Next Generation air traffic control (NextGen); and
$50 million to repair NASA centers damaged by hurricanes and floods
last year.

· Biomedical Advanced Research and Development, Pandemic Flu,
and Cyber Security: $900 million to prepare for a pandemic influenza,
support advanced development of medical countermeasures for chemical,
biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and for cyber security
protections at HHS.

· National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellites
and Sensors: $600 million for satellite development and acquisitions,
including climate sensors and climate modeling.

· National Institute of Standards and Technology: $300 million
for competitive construction grants for research science buildings at
colleges, universities, and other research organizations and $100
million to coordinate research efforts of laboratories and national
research facilities by setting interoperability standards for
manufacturing.

· Agricultural Research Service: $209 million for agricultural
research facilities across the country. ARS has a list of deferred
maintenance work at facilities of roughly $315 million.

· U.S. Geological Survey: $200 million to repair and modernize
U.S.G.S. science facilities and equipment, including improvements to
laboratories, earthquake monitoring systems, and computing capacity.



Creating Small Business Opportunity
· Small Business Credit: $430 million for new direct lending
and loan guarantee authorities to make loans more attractive to
lenders and free up capital. The number of loans guaranteed under the
SBA’s 7(a) business loan program was down 57% in the first quarter of
this year compared to last.

· Rural Business-Cooperative Service: $100 million for rural
business grants and loans to guarantee $2 billion in loans for rural
businesses at a time of unprecedented demand due to the credit crunch.
Private sector lenders are increasingly turning to this program to
help businesses get access to capital.

· Industrial Technology Services: $100 million, including $70
million for the Technology Innovation Program to accelerate research
in potentially revolutionary technologies with high job growth
potential, and $30 million for the Manufacturing Extension
Partnerships to help small and mid-size manufacturers compete globally
by providing them with access to technology.

· Economic Development Assistance: $250 million to address long-
term economic distress in urban industrial cores and rural areas
distributed based on need and ability to create jobs and attract
private investment. EDA leverages $10 in private investments for $1
in federal funds.



DTV Conversion Coupons: $650 million to continue the coupon program to
enable American households to convert from analog television
transmission to digital transmission.




MODERNIZE ROADS, BRIDGES, TRANSIT AND WATERWAYS

To build a 21st century economy, we must engage contractors across the
nation to create jobs - rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges,
modernizing public buildings, and putting people to work cleaning our
air, water, and land.



Highway Infrastructure: $30 billion for highway and bridge
construction projects. It is estimated that states have over 5,100
projects totaling over $64 billion that could be awarded within 180
days. These projects create jobs in the short term while saving
commuters time and money in the long term. In 2006, the Department of
Transportation estimated $8.5 billion was needed to maintain current
systems and $61.4 billion was needed to improve highways and bridges.

Transit: Public transportation saves Americans time and money, saving
as much as 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline and reducing carbon
emissions by 37 million metric tons each year.
· New Construction: $1 billion for Capital Investment Grants
for new commuter rail or other light rail systems to increase public
use of mass transit and to speed projects already in construction.
The Federal Transit Administration has $2.4 billion in pre-approved
projects.

· Upgrades and Repair: $2 billion to modernize existing transit
systems, including renovations to stations, security systems,
computers, equipment, structures, signals, and communications. Funds
will be distributed through the existing formula. The repair backlog
is nearly $50 billion.

· Transit Capital Assistance: $6 billion to purchase buses and
equipment needed to increase public transportation and improve
intermodal and transit facilities. The Department of Transportation
estimates a $3.2 billion maintenance backlog and $9.2 billion in
needed improvements. The American Public Transportation Association
identified 787 ready-to-go transit projects totaling $15.5 billion.
Funds will be distributed through the existing formulas.


Amtrak and Intercity Passenger Rail Construction Grants: $1.1 billion
to improve the speed and capacity of intercity passenger rail
service. The Department of Transportation’s Inspector General
estimates the North East Corridor alone has a backlog of over $10
billion.

Airport Improvement Grants: $3 billion for airport improvement
projects that will improve safety and reduce congestion. An estimated
$41 billion in eligible airport infrastructure projects are needed
between 2007-2011.

Transportation Security Administration Explosive Detection Systems:
$500 million to install Aviation Explosive Detection Systems in the
nation’s airports, improving security, and making life easier on
travelers by speeding security lines. Funds are competitively awarded
based on security risk.

Coast Guard Bridges: $150 million for ready-to-go investments to
repair or remove bridges deemed hazardous to marine navigation,
thereby removing obstructions and improving the safety of marine
navigation.

Technology Improvements for a More Efficient and Secure Government
· Social Security Administration Modernization: $400 million to
replace the 30 year old Social Security Administration’s National
Computer Center to meet growing needs for processing retirement and
disability claims and records storage.

· Farm Service Agency: $245 million for critical IT
improvements to systems that have been unable to handle workload
increases.

· State Department Technology: $276 million to upgrade and
modernize information technology platforms for the Department to meet
security requirements post-9/11.

· Department of Agriculture: $44 million for repairs and
security improvements at USDA’s headquarters.


Department of Defense Facilities
· Medical Facilities: $3.75 billion for new construction of
hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, and $455 million in
renovations to provide state-of-the-art medical care to service
members and their families.

· Facilities Renovations: $2.1 billion to address needed
repairs to military facilities.

· Troop Housing: $1.2 billion for new construction and $154
million for renovations to improve housing for our troops.

· Child Development Center: $360 million for new child
development centers.

· Guard and Reserve: $400 million for new construction to
support Guard and Reserve units across the country with operations and
training facilities and utilities infrastructure.


Veterans Administration Facilities

· Veterans Medical Facilities: $950 million for veterans’
medical facilities. The Department has identified a $5 billion
backlog in needed repairs, including energy efficiency projects, at
its 153 medical facilities.

· Veterans Cemeteries: $50 million to put people to work making
monument and memorial repairs at cemeteries for American heroes.



Border Ports of Entry: $1.15 billion to construct GSA and Customs and
Border Patrol land ports of entry to improve border security, make
trade and travel easier and reduce wait times, and to procure non-
intrusive inspection technology at sea ports of entry, which is used
to scan cargo containers to reduce the risk that containers can be
used to smuggle weapons of mass destruction.



Job Corps Facilities: $300 million to upgrade job training facilities
serving at-risk youth while improving energy efficiency.



Construction on Public Lands and Parks: $3.1 billion for
infrastructure projects on federal lands including improvements to
visitor facilities, road and trail restoration, preservation of
buildings of cultural and historic importance, rehabilitation of
abandoned mines and oil fields, and environmental cleanup projects.
This includes $1.8 billion for the National Park Service, $325 million
for the Bureau of Land Management, $300 million for the National
Wildlife Refuges and National Fish Hatcheries, and $650 million for
the Forest Service.



National Treasures: $400 million, including $200 million to address
the deterioration of the National Mall, such as repair of the
Jefferson Memorial’s collapsing Tidal Basin walls; $150 million to
address the repair backlog at the Smithsonian; and $50 million for the
National Endowment for the Arts.



Clean Water

· Clean Water State Revolving Fund: $6 billion for loans to
help communities upgrade wastewater treatment systems. EPA estimates
a $388 billion funding gap. The Association of State and Interstate
Water Pollution Control Administrators found that 26 states have $10
billion in approved water projects.

· Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: $2 billion for loans for
drinking water infrastructure. EPA estimates there is a $274 billion
funding gap. The National Governors Association reported that there
are $6 billion in ready-to-go projects, which could quickly be
obligated.

· Rural Water and Waste Disposal: $1.5 billion to support $3.8
billion in grants and loans to help communities fund drinking water
and wastewater treatment systems. In 2008, there were $2.4 billion in
requests for water and waste loans and $990 million for water and
waste grants went unfunded.


Water Resources
· Corps of Engineers: $4.5 billion for environmental
restoration, flood protection, hydropower, and navigation
infrastructure critical to the economy. The Corps has a construction
backlog of $61 billion.

· Bureau of Reclamation: $500 million to provide clean,
reliable drinking water to rural areas and to ensure adequate water
supply to western localities impacted by drought. The Bureau has
backlogs of more than $1 billion in rural water projects and water
reuse and recycling projects.

· Watershed Infrastructure: $400 million for the Natural
Resources Conservation Service watershed improvement programs to
design and build flood protection and water quality projects, repair
aging dams, and purchase and restore conservation easements in river
flood zones.

· International Boundary and Water Commission: $224 million to
repair flood control systems along the international segment of the
Rio Grande damaged by hurricane Katrina and other serious storms.



Environmental Cleanup

· Superfund Hazardous Waste Cleanup: $800 million to clean up
hazardous and toxic waste sites that threaten health and the
environment. EPA has 1,255 sites on its National Priority List,
selected based on a hazard ranking system. There are many Superfund
sites ready for construction, but not funded due to budget shortfalls
and over 600 sites with ongoing construction that could be accelerated.

· Leaking Underground Storage Tanks: $200 million for
enforcement and cleanup of petroleum leaks from underground storage
tanks at approximately 1,600 additional sites. There are an estimated
116,000 sites with the potential to contaminate important water
supplies.

· Nuclear Waste Cleanup: $500 million for nuclear waste cleanup
at sites contaminated as a result of the nation’s past nuclear
activities. Accelerating the completion of projects will reduce long-
term costs.

· Closed Military Bases: $300 million for cleanup activities at
closed military installations allowing local communities to redevelop
these properties for productive use. The Department estimates that
there is a $3.5 billion environmental cleanup backlog at bases closed
during previous BRAC rounds.

· NOAA Habitat Restoration: $400 million for ready-to-go
habitat restoration projects.

· Brownfields: $100 million for competitive grants for
evaluation and cleanup of former industrial and commercial sites -
turning them from problem properties to productive community use. Last
year EPA was only able to fund 37% of Brownfields applications.



Reducing Wildfires Threats: $850 million for hazardous fuels removal
and other efforts to prevent wildfires on public lands. Making these
investments today will create jobs in the short run, but also save
long term costs of fighting fires in the future.
· State and Private Forest Service Wildfire: $550 million for
state and local volunteer programs and hazardous fuels reduction
efforts which states and communities have determined are of the
highest priority.

· Federal Forest Service Wildfire: $300 million for urgently
needed hazard reduction on federal lands.



Bureau of Indian Affairs: $500 million to address maintenance backlogs
at schools, dams, detention and law enforcement facilities, and over
24,000 miles of roads. BIA schools alone have an over $1 billion
construction and maintenance backlog including shamefully unsafe
conditions.





EDUCATION FOR THE 21st CENTURY
We will put people to work building 21st century classrooms, labs, and
libraries to help our kids compete with any worker in the world.

21st Century Classrooms

· School Construction: $20 billion, including $14 billion for
K-12 and $6 billion for higher education, for renovation and
modernization, including technology upgrades and energy efficiency
improvements. Also includes $100 million for school construction in
communities that lack a local property tax base because they contain
non-taxable federal lands such as military bases or Indian
reservations, and $25 million to help charter schools build, obtain,
and repair schools.

· Education Technology: $1 billion for 21st century classrooms,
including computer and science labs and teacher technology training.


Higher Education: Tuition is up, unemployment is up, and as a result
more people are choosing to go to school to upgrade their skills and
more of these students need student aid. This investment addresses
those short term needs while investing in our nation’s future economic
strength.
· Pell Grants: $15.6 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant
by $500, from $4,850 to $5,350.

· College Work-Study: $490 million to support undergraduate and
graduate students who work.

· Student Loan Limit Increase: Increases limits on unsubsidized
Stafford loans by $2,000.

· Student Aid Administration: $50 million to help the
Department of Education administer surging student aid programs while
navigating the changing student loan environment.



K-12 Education: As states begin tackling a projected $350 billion in
budget shortfalls these investments will prevent cuts to critical
education programs and services.
· IDEA Special Education: $13 billion for formula grants to
increase the federal share of special education costs and prevent
these mandatory costs from forcing states to cut other areas of
education.

· Title I Help for Disadvantaged Kids: $13 billion for grants
to help disadvantaged kids in nearly every school district and more
than half of all public schools reach high academic standards.

· Statewide Data Systems: $250 million for competitive grants
to states to design and develop data systems that analyze individual
student data to find ways to improve student achievement, providing
teachers and administrators with effective tools.

· Education for Homeless Children and Youth: $66 million for
formula grants to states to provide services to homeless children
including meals and transportation when high unemployment and home
foreclosures have created an influx of homeless kids.

· Improving Teacher Quality: $300 million, including $200
million for competitive grants to school districts and states to
provide financial incentives for teachers and principals who raise
student achievement and close the achievement gaps in high-need
schools and $100 million for competitive grants to states to address
teacher shortages and modernize the teaching workforce.



Early Childhood Development

· Child Care Development Block Grant: $2 billion to provide
child care services for an additional 300,000 children in low-income
families while their parents go to work. Today only one out of seven
eligible children receives care.

· Head Start: $2.1 billion to provide comprehensive development
services to help 110,000 additional children succeed in school. Funds
are distributed based on need. Only about half of all eligible
preschoolers and less than 3 percent of eligible infants and toddlers
participate in Head Start.

· IDEA Infants and Families: $600 million for formula grants to
help states serve children with disabilities age 2 and younger.




LOWER HEALTHCARE COSTS
To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we will update and
computerize our healthcare system to cut red tape, prevent medical
mistakes, and help reduce healthcare costs by billions of dollars
each year.
· Health Information Technology: $20 billion to jumpstart
efforts to computerize health records to cut costs and reduce medical
errors.

· Prevention and Wellness Fund: $3 billion to fight preventable
chronic diseases, the leading cause of deaths in the U.S., and
infectious diseases. Preventing disease rather than treating
illnesses is the most effective way to reduce healthcare costs. This
includes hospital infection prevention, Preventive Health and Health
Services Block Grants for state and local public health departments,
immunization programs, and evidence-based disease prevention.

· Healthcare Effectiveness Research: $1.1 billion for
Healthcare Research and Quality programs to compare the effectiveness
of different medical treatments funded by Medicare, Medicaid, and
SCHIP. Finding out what works best and educating patients and doctors
will improve treatment and save taxpayers money.

· Community Health Centers: $1.5 billion, including $500
million to increase the number of uninsured Americans who receive
quality healthcare and $1 billion to renovate clinics and make health
information technology improvements. More than 400 applications
submitted earlier this year for new or expanded CHC sites remain
unfunded.

· Training Primary Care Providers: $600 million to address
shortages and prepare our country for universal healthcare by training
primary healthcare providers including doctors, dentists, and nurses
as well as helping pay medical school expenses for students who agree
to practice in underserved communities through the National Health
Service Corps.

· Indian Health Service Facilities: $550 million to modernize
aging hospitals and health clinics and make healthcare technology
upgrades to improve healthcare for underserved rural populations.





HELP WORKERS HURT BY THE ECONOMY

High unemployment and rising costs have outpaced Americans’
paychecks. We will help workers train and find jobs, and help
struggling families make ends meet.



Helping Workers Find Jobs
· Training and Employment Services: $4 billion for job training
including formula grants for adult, dislocated worker, and youth
services (including $1.2 billion to create up to one million summer
jobs for youth). The needs of workers also will be met through
dislocated worker national emergency grants, new competitive grants
for worker training in high growth and emerging industry sectors (with
priority consideration to “green” jobs and healthcare), and increased
funds for the YouthBuild program. Green jobs training will include
preparing workers for activities supported by other economic recovery
funds, such as retrofitting of buildings, green construction, and the
production of renewable electric power.

· Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants: $500 million for
state formula grants for construction and rehabilitation of facilities
to help persons with disabilities prepare for gainful employment.

· Employment Services Grants: $500 million to match unemployed
individuals to job openings through state employment service agencies
and allow states to provide customized services. Funds are targeted
to states with the greatest need based on labor force, unemployment,
and long-term unemployed rates.

· Community Service Employment for Older Americans: $120
million to provide subsidized community service jobs to an additional
24,000 low-income older Americans.


Unemployment Insurance Benefits
· Benefits Extension: $27 billion to continue the current
extended unemployment benefits program – which provides up to 33 weeks
of extended benefits - through December 31, 2009 given rising
unemployment.

· Increased Benefits: $9 billion to increase the current
average unemployment insurance benefit from roughly $300 per week,
paid out of State trust funds, by $25 per week using Federal funds,
through December 2009. There are currently 5.3 million workers
receiving regular UI and an additional 1.9 million receiving extended
benefits.

· Unemployment Insurance Modernization: Provides funds to
states though a “Reed Act” distribution, tied to states’ meeting
specific reforms to increase unemployment insurance coverage for low-
wage, part-time, and other jobless workers.


COBRA Healthcare for the Unemployed: $30.3 billion to extend health
insurance coverage to the unemployed, extending the period of COBRA
coverage for older and tenured workers beyond the 18 months provided
under current law. Specifically, workers 55 and older, and workers who
have worked for an employer for 10 or more years will be able to
retain their COBRA coverage until they become Medicare eligible or
secure coverage through a subsequent employer. In addition,
subsidizing the first 12 months of COBRA coverage for eligible persons
who have lost their jobs on or after September 1, 2008 at a 65 percent
subsidy rate, the same rate provided under the Health Care Tax Credit
for unemployed workers under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.
[Ways and Means]

Medicaid Coverage for the Unemployed: $8.6 billion to provide 100
percent Federal funding through 2010 for optional State Medicaid
coverage of individuals (and their dependents) who are involuntarily
unemployed and whose family income does not exceed a State-determined
level, but is no higher than 200 percent of poverty, or who are
receiving food stamps.

Attacking the Housing Crisis

· Public Housing Capital Fund: $5 billion for building repair
and modernization, including critical safety repairs. Every dollar of
Capital Fund expenditures produces $2.12 in economic return. $4
billion of the funds will be distributed to public housing authorities
through the existing formula and $1 billion will be awarded through a
competitive process for projects that improve energy efficiency.

· HOME Investment Partnerships: $1.5 billion to help local
communities build and rehabilitate low-income housing using green
technologies. Thousands of ready-to-go housing projects have been
stalled by the credit crunch. Funds are distributed by formula.

· Native American Housing Block Grants: $500 million to
rehabilitate and improve energy efficiency at some of the over 42,000
housing units maintained by Native American housing programs. Half of
the funding will be distributed by formula and half will be
competitively awarded to projects that can be started quickly.

· Neighborhood Stabilization: $4.2 billion to help communities
purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties in order to
create more affordable housing and reduce neighborhood blight.

· Homeless Assistance Grants: $1.5 billion for the Emergency
Shelter Grant program to provide short term rental assistance, housing
relocation, and stabilization services for families during the
economic crisis. Funds are distributed by formula.

· Rural Housing Insurance Fund: $500 million to support $22
billion in direct loans and loan guarantees to help rural families and
individuals buy homes during the credit crunch. Last year these
programs received $13.4 billion more in applications than they could
fund.

· Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Program: $10 million for
rural, high-need areas to undertake projects using sustainable and
energy-efficient building and rehabilitation practices. Funds will be
awarded by competition to projects that can begin quickly.

· Lead Paint: $100 million for competitive grants to local
governments and nonprofit organizations to remove lead-based paint
hazards in low-income housing.

· Rural Community Facilities: $200 million to support $1.2
billion in grants and loans to rural areas for critical community
facilities, such as for healthcare, education, fire and rescue, day
care, community centers, and libraries. There are over $1.2 billion in
applications pending.



Alleviating Hunger

· Supplemental Nutrition Assistance: $20 billion to provide
nutrition assistance to modest-income families and to lift
restrictions that limit the amount of time individuals can receive
food stamps.

· Senior Nutrition Programs: $200 million for formula grants to
states for elderly nutrition services including Meals on Wheels and
Congregate Meals.

· Afterschool Meals: $726 million to increase the number of
states that provide free dinners to children and to encourage
participation by new institutions by increasing snack reimbursement
rates.

· Supplemental Nutrition Program Information Systems: $100
million to improve state management information systems for the WIC
program.


Payments to Disabled and Elderly: $4.2 billion to help 7.5 million low-
income disabled and elderly individuals with rising costs by providing
an additional SSI payment in 2009 equal to the average monthly federal
payment under the program (approximately $450 for an individual and
$630 for a couple). This one-time payment will serve as an immediate
economic stimulus as half of SSI recipients have no other form of
income and the other half average outside income of less than $450 per
month.

Community Services Block Grant: $1 billion for grants to local
communities to support employment, food, housing, and healthcare
efforts serving those hardest hit by the recession. Community action
agencies have seen dramatic increases in requests for their assistance
due to rising unemployment, housing foreclosures, and high food and
fuel prices.

Community Development Block Grants: $1 billion for community and
economic development projects including housing and services for those
hit hard by tough economic times.

Emergency Food and Shelter: $200 million to help local community
organizations provide food, shelter, and support services to the
nation’s hungry, homeless, and people in economic crisis including one-
month utility payments to prevent service cut-off and one-month rent
or mortgage assistance to prevent evictions or help people leave
shelters. Funds are distributed by formula based on unemployment and
poverty rates.

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance: $1 billion to help low-income
families pay for home heating and cooling at a time of rising energy
costs.

Child Support Enforcement: $1 billion to provide federal incentive
funds for states to collect support owed to families.

Social Security Administration Disability Backlog and Claims
Processing: $500 million to help the Social Security Administration
process a steep rise in disability and retirement claims, getting
people their benefits faster, and preventing existing backlogs from
getting worse. Within this total, $40 million will help SSI upgrade
health information technology.

Centers for Independent Living: $200 million for state formula grants
to help individuals with disabilities continue to live in their
communities.

AmeriCorps Programs: $200 million to put approximately 16,000
additional AmeriCorps members to work doing national service, meeting
needs of vulnerable populations and communities during the recession.

Compassion Capital Fund: $100 million for grants to faith- and
community-based organizations to provide critical safety net services
to needy individuals and families.

Department of Labor Worker Protection and Oversight: $80 million to
ensure that worker protection laws are enforced as recovery
infrastructure investments are carried out.


SAVE PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS AND PROTECT VITAL SERVICES
We will provide relief to states, so they can continue to employ
teachers, firefighters, and police officers and provide vital services
without having to unnecessarily raise middle class taxes.

Medicaid Aid to States (FMAP): $87 billion to states, increasing
through the end of FY 2010 the share of Medicaid costs the Federal
government reimburses all states by 4.8 percent, with additional
relief tied to rates of unemployment. This approach has been used in
previous recessions to prevent cuts to health benefits for their
increased low-income patient loads at a time when state revenues are
declining.

State Education and Other Budget Priorities: $120 billion to states
and school districts to stabilize budgets and prevent tax increases
and deep cuts to critical education programs, including:
· $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13
billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair
Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1
billion).

· $79 billion in state fiscal relief, including: $39 billion to
local school districts and public colleges and universities
distributed through existing state and federal formulas; $15 billion
to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance
measures; and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such
as public safety and other critical services, which may include
education.


Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: $2.5 billion for block grants
to help States deal with the surge in families needing help during the
recession and to prevent them from cutting work programs and services
for abused and neglected children.

State and Local Law Enforcement: $4 billion to support state and local
law enforcement including $3 billion for the Byrne Justice Assistance
formula grants to support local law enforcement efforts with equipment
and operating costs, and $1 billion for the COPS hiring grant program,
to hire about 13,000 new police officers for three years. The grantee
is responsible for at least 25% in matching funds and must commit to
use their own funds to keep the officer on board in the fourth year.

Periodic Census and Programs, Communications: $1 billion for work
necessary to ensure a successful 2010 census, including $150 million
for expanded communications and outreach programs to minimize
undercounting of minority groups.



OTHER IMPORTANT POLICY PROVISION

Medicare and Medicaid Regulations: The bill extends the moratorium on
Medicaid and Medicare regulations through October 1, 2009.