Below you will find some of the most frequently asked questions and answers about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act) and Recovery.gov. You can also review the Glossary for definitions of frequently used terms and words.
Q: What is the Recovery Act?
A: The Recovery Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009. The purpose of the $787 billion Recovery package is to jump-start the economy to create and save jobs. The Act specifies appropriations for a wide range of federal programs, and increases or extends certain benefits under Medicaid, unemployment compensation, and nutrition assistance programs. The legislation also reduces individual and corporate income tax collections, and makes a variety of other changes to tax laws. Long-term investment goals include:
- Beginning to computerize health records to reduce medical errors and save on health-care costs
- Investing in the domestic renewable energy industry
- Weatherizing 75 percent of federal buildings and more than one million homes
- Increasing college affordability for seven million students by funding the shortfall in Pell Grants, raising the maximum grant level to $500, and providing a higher education tax cut to nearly four million students
- Cutting taxes for 129 million working households by providing an $800 Making Work Pay tax credit for qualified individuals
- Expanding the Child Tax Credit
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Q: Where can I find the full text of the Recovery Act?
A: The text of the law can be found here.
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Q: Where can I learn more about how the Recovery Act will affect the budget?
A: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has calculated the impact that the Recovery Act will have on the federal government's budget deficit. You can review those calculations in full, or read a summary on the CBO blog. For more information, visit the White House website or, for legislative information, the Library of Congress' website, THOMAS.
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Q: How does the Recovery Act work?
A: Twenty-eight different agencies – such as the Departments of Education; Health and Human Services; and Energy – have been allocated a portion of the $787 billion in Recovery funds. Each agency develops specific plans for how it will spend its Recovery Act funds. The agencies then award grants and contracts to state governments or, in some cases, directly to schools, hospitals, contractors, or other organizations. The agencies are required to file weekly financial reports on how they are spending the money and their specific activities related to Recovery funds. Starting in October 2009, recipients will report quarterly on how they spend the Recovery Act funds that they received.
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Q: What is Recovery.gov?
A: Recovery.gov is the official government website created by the Recovery Act to help taxpayers track how Recovery money is being spent. You can follow the spending into your own state, county, zip code, or congressional district.
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Q: Who runs Recovery.gov?
A: The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, established by the Recovery Act, maintains Recovery.gov. The Recovery Board includes Chairman Earl Devaney, appointed by President Obama, and 12 Inspectors General, 10 of whom were named to the Board by the Recovery Act and two of whom were appointed by President Obama.
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Q: What is an Inspector General?
A: Every federal agency has an Office of the Inspector General (IG) responsible for overseeing how federal funds are spent and for working with the agency to minimize fraud, waste, and abuse. For agencies that received Recovery Act funds, the IGs also are responsible for reviewing their agencies' Recovery spending to ensure that Recovery-related projects meet legal and administrative requirements. The IGs review their agencies' administrative practices to ensure that effective controls are in place for managing Recovery funds. After completing a review, the IG issues a report outlining any weaknesses or challenges and makes recommendations to improve controls. The IGs also work with managers of federal programs and recipients of Recovery funds to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. If an allegation of fraud, waste, or abuse is received by an Inspector General, he or she will determine the validity of the claim and, if necessary, take further action.
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Q: How can I see how much Recovery money is coming to my community?
A: You are able to track the money coming into your community from the map on the Recovery.gov home page. Click on your state and then drill down by zip code, congressional district, or county to see the projects. You can also enter your zip code on the home page to find projects in your neighborhood.
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Q: What will I be able to locate on Recovery.gov?
A: Some of the important information on the site includes:
- Detailed state-by-state information on Recovery projects, including those going on in your own zip code--displayed on interactive maps, and in charts and graphs
- Agency Financial Reports, Recovery Act Plans and Program Plans
- Inspectors General Financial Reports, Findings, and congressional testimony
- Instructions on how to report fraud, waste, and abuse
- Information on the Recovery Board
- News items relating to how agencies are distributing funds
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Q: How does Recovery.gov differ from USASpending.gov?
A: Recovery.gov tracks only funds allocated under the Recovery Act. USASpending.gov collects data about all federal contracts, grants, loans, and spending.
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Q: Why is the data on Recovery.gov different from USASpending.gov and other federal government data sites?
A: Some government databases post financial reports on spending at different times, making it impossible to have exact matches of data.
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Q: What is Google Translate?
A: Google Translate allows Recovery.gov content to be translated into 52 languages.
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Q: How can I contact the Administration with questions or comments about Recovery.gov and the recovery package?
A: Visit USA.gov or call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636) 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET Monday-Friday. You can also visit the White House website and leave comments here.
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Q: How can I contact Recovery.gov with questions?
A: The best way to comment or ask a question about Recovery.gov is to use our Feedback form.
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Q: What should I do if I suspect that a company or individual is using Recovery funds fraudulently?
A: There are several ways to report potential fraud, waste, or abuse of Recovery funds:
- Submit a fraud, waste, and abuse Complaint Form online
- Call the toll-free Fraud Hotline number at 1-877-FWA-DESK (1-877-392-3375)
- Fax the toll-free fax number at 1-877-FAX-FWA2 (1-877-329-3922)
- Write the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board at:
P.O. Box 27545
Washington, D.C. 20038-7958
(Attention: Hotline Operators)
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Q: Is Recovery.gov accessible to people with disabilities?
A: Recovery.gov complies with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and has been manually verified for nearly all of the checkpoints using Watchfire® WebXM™ program. The Recovery Board plans to continue to upgrade the site's accessibility for individuals with disabilities in forthcoming updates.
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Q: Is the spending data on Recovery.gov available in a format (like XML) that developers can use to create mashups and gadgets?
A: Yes. Go to the Download Center for that information.
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