sitemap | contact info

• 
• 
  • Mission
  • Staff
  • News
  • Contact
• 
  • North Carolina Impact
  • North Carolina Plan
  • Federal Legislation
• 
• 
  • All Calendar
  • Public Meetings
  • Workshops
• 

Federal Legislation

On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The act represents a significant investment in our country´s future in the face of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The White House predicts that the ARRA will create or save three to four million jobs, 90 percent of them in the private sector. In addition to providing short-term stimulus, according to the White House the act also benefits the nation by:

• Investing $150 billion in new infrastructure ­ the largest increase in our nation´s transportation funding since the 1950s;
• Providing capital over three years to eventually double domestic renewable energy capacity;
• Undertaking the largest weatherization program in history by modernizing 75% of federal building space and more than 1 million homes;
• Increasing college affordability by funding Pell Grants, increasing the maximum award by $500 and providing a new higher education tax cut to nearly 4 million students;
• Taking a big step toward computerizing Americans´ health records;
• Providing an $800 tax credit for 129 million working households and cutting taxes for millions of families through an expansion of the Child Tax Credit.

Click here to read the full text of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Where does the money go?

The recovery package provides a total of $789.5 billion in spending and tax cuts over two years. According to the White House the money is distributed like this:

How is the money spent?

$225 Billion or 28.5% of the total amount is distributed to state and local governments using a funding formula. Of this $225 billion, North Carolina will receive an estimated $6.1 billion.

About 35% of the total amount is tax cuts. The rest of the package is awarded competitively or through other mechanisms that cannot b estimated on a state-specific basis.

Click here for more detail on the impact of the legislation on North Carolina.