Signed, sealed, delivered: ARRA

The economic recovery package is essential for our nation's economy, for its infrastructure, and for our energy, health, and education needs -- and now it's the law.

After months of planning and weeks of negotiation, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today in Denver, CO.

"What I am signing is a balanced plan with a mix of tax cuts and investments. It is a plan that’s been put together without earmarks or the usual pork barrel spending. And it is a plan that will be implemented with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability," President Obama said before signing the bill into law. "And we expect you, the American people, to hold us accountable for the results. That is why we have created Recovery.gov – so every American can go online and see how their money is being spent."

That site, Recovery.gov, is now live. You can go there to see projections -- based on language in the legislation -- of where your money will go, broken down state-by-state. And over the coming weeks and months, as the funds start to go out, you'll be able to see far more detailed information.

It's just the beginning of a long process, of course -- on Air Force One today, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called it "a strong start towards economic viability."

"Our American story is not -- and has never been -- about things coming easy," the President said in his remarks at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. "It’s about rising to the moment when the moment is hard, converting crisis into opportunity, and seeing to it that we emerge from whatever trials we face stronger than we were before."

Before the signing, President Obama toured the museum's solar panel installation.

Read the President's and Vice President's full remarks.

Time to sign it

The President is off to Denver this morning, where he'll sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law.

He'll sign the bill at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science alongside Vice President Biden, Gov. Bill Ritter, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (who until recently was Colorado Senator Ken Salazar), then take a tour of the museum's installation of solar panels.

The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News both identified local clean energy companies who say they expect to benefit from the economic recovery package.

The Post:

Pete Austin of Cañon City is poised to implement the stimulus bill's expanded subsidies for wind energy and business-equipment purchases. He said he will train and hire installers for solar panels and wind turbines and will finally lock up the loan he has been putting off for new trucks.

"I'd like to thank them from the bottom of my heart," said Austin, taking a break from installing a home-based solar array in Pueblo West. "I'm tickled to death that we're moving forward with legislation and policy that directs this country into energy that's diversified. We're very happy they have kept the promise."

The News:

Matthew Caryofilles, the owner of SALT Electric in Denver…Once the stimulus bill is signed, he predicts several projects that have been "percolating" will finally get under way. Work could begin on some of them by the end of March, he said.

"We can actually grow again," he said.

More on the signing later.

The story of the economic recovery package (photos)

As President Obama says, the economic recovery package is just one of three "legs of the stool" -- a milestone, but an early one, the very beginning of the long process of fixing the economic crisis we inherited.

Tomorrow we'll mark the end of that beginning, as President Obama travels to Denver, CO to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that the House and Senate approved last Friday.

Over the past few weeks, the President spent some time with Americans across the country who are hurting because of this crisis. And the team has been working around the clock, meeting with House members, Senators, and governors -- Democratic and Republican alike -- to build and pass the recovery package.

Along the way, White House photographer Pete Souza, whose job it is to visually document everything the President does, has captured some pretty incredible behind-the-scenes images. It’s a glimpse of the President and of the White House that you don’t usually get to see.

Flip through the photo gallery below -- then take a look at the finished product and offer your thoughts.

A major milestone

Today President Obama is celebrating the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a "major milestone on our road to recovery," while still emphasizing that we have many miles yet to go.

"This historic step won't be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but the beginning," he says in his weekly address. To get us there, he invokes President Kennedy, who said, "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks."

President Obama acknowledges that some people are skeptical about the plan given how Washington has performed in the past, which is why he's encouraging people to check back at Recovery.gov -- the site where, once the plan is in action, you'll be able to track the funds.

"Utlimately, this is your money, and you deserve to know where it's going and how it's spent," he says.

Watch the address below.

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This week, I spent some time with Americans across the country who are hurting because of our economic crisis. People closing the businesses they scrimped and saved to start. Families losing the homes that were their stake in the American Dream. Folks who have given up trying to get ahead, and given in to the stark reality of just trying to get by.

They’ve been looking to those they sent to Washington for some hope at a time when they need it most.

This morning, I’m pleased to say that after a lively debate full of healthy difference of opinion, we have delivered real and tangible progress for the American people.

Congress has passed my economic recovery plan – an ambitious plan at a time we badly need it. It will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, ignite spending by business and consumers alike, and lay a new foundation for our lasting economic growth and prosperity.

This is a major milestone on our road to recovery, and I want to thank the Members of Congress who came together in common purpose to make it happen. Because they did, I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we’ll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done.

The work of modernizing our health care system, saving billions of dollars and countless lives; and upgrading classrooms, libraries, and labs in our children’s schools across America.

The work of building wind turbines and solar panels and the smart grid necessary to transport the clean energy they create; and laying broadband internet lines to connect rural homes, schools, and businesses to the information superhighway.

The work of repairing our crumbling roads and bridges, and our dangerously deficient dams and levees.

And we’ll help folks who’ve lost their jobs through no fault of their own by providing the unemployment benefits they need and protecting the health care they count on.

Now, some fear we won’t be able to effectively implement a plan of this size and scope, and I understand their skepticism. Washington hasn’t set a very good example in recent years. And with so much on the line, it’s time to begin doing things differently.

That’s why our goal must be to spend these precious dollars with unprecedented accountability, responsibility, and transparency. I’ve tasked my cabinet and staff to set up the kind of management, oversight, and disclosure that will help ensure that, and I will challenge state and local governments to do the same.

Once the plan is put into action, a new website – Recovery DOT gov – will allow any American to watch where the money goes and weigh in with comments and questions – and I encourage every American to do so. Ultimately, this is your money, and you deserve to know where it’s going and how it’s spent.

This historic step won’t be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but the beginning. The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread. Our response must be equal to the task.

For our plan to succeed, we must stabilize, repair, and reform our banking system, and get credit flowing again to families and businesses.

We must write and enforce new rules of the road, to stop unscrupulous speculators from undermining our economy ever again.

We must stem the spread of foreclosures and do everything we can to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes.

And in the weeks ahead, I will submit a proposal for the federal budget that will begin to restore the discipline these challenging times demand. Our debt has doubled over the past eight years, and we’ve inherited a trillion-dollar deficit – which we must add to in the short term in order to jumpstart our sick economy. But our long-term economic growth demands that we tame our burgeoning federal deficit; that we invest in the things we need, and dispense with the things we don’t. This is a challenging agenda, but one we can and will achieve.

This morning, I’m reminded of words President Kennedy spoke in another time of uncertainty. "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks."

America, we will prove equal to this task. It will take time, and it will take effort, but working together, we will turn this crisis into opportunity and emerge from our painful present into a brighter future. After a week spent with the fundamentally decent men and women of this nation, I have never been more certain of that. Thank you.

ARRA for comment

Yesterday, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed through conference and is now on its way back to the House and Senate for full votes.

Take a look at the legislation and send us your thoughts, comments, and ideas.

Senate passes ARRA

The Senate has just voted to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

President Obama is currently holding a town hall in Fort Myers, FL to talk about the ARRA and the other "legs of the stool" -- the different things we have to do to get the economy back on track.

Town hall time

The President is on his way to Elkhart, Indiana, for a town hall about the economic recovery plan. He'll talk for a bit, then take questions from the audience of about 1,700 people.

Elkhart has been hit especially hard by the economic crisis. Its seen its unemployment rate more than triple over the past year -- from 4.7% in December 2007 to 15.3% this past December.

Our economic team put together some details of how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will work in Indiana, we've pasted them below. We’ll have more from the town hall later this afternoon.

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is a nationwide effort to create jobs, jumpstart growth and transform our economy for the 21st century. Across the country, this plan will help businesses create jobs and families afford their bills while laying a foundation for future economic growth in key areas like health care, clean energy, education and a 21st century infrastructure. In Indiana, this plan will deliver immediate, tangible impacts, including: 

• Creating or saving 79,300 jobs over the next two years. Jobs created will be in a range of industries from clean energy to health care, with over 90% in the private sector. [Source: White House Estimate based on Romer and Bernstein, "The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." January 9, 2009.]

• Providing a making work pay tax cut of up to $1,000 for 2,480,000 workers and their families. The plan will make a down payment on the President’s Making Work Pay tax cut for 95% of workers and their families, designed to pay out immediately into workers’ paychecks. [Source: White House Estimate based on IRS Statistics of Income]

• Making 76,000 families eligible for a new American Opportunity Tax Credit to make college affordable. By creating a new $2,500 partially refundable tax credit for four years of college, this plan will give 3.8 million families nationwide – and 76,000 families in Indiana – new assistance to put college within their reach. [Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of U.S. Census data]

• Offering an additional $100 per month in unemployment insurance benefits to 456,000 workers in Indiana who have lost their jobs in this recession, and providing extended unemployment benefits to an additional 89,000 laid-off workers. [Source: National Employment Law Project]

• Providing funding sufficient to modernize at least 176 schools in Indiana so our children have the labs, classrooms and libraries they need to compete in the 21st century economy. [Source: White House Estimate]