As a follow up to that, I wanted to share this newsclip that shows the money is being spent – wisely – and in some unbelievably important ways.
We are not just creating jobs, but repairing infrastructure in a nation that the
American Society of Civil Engineers scores with a D-. Translation: we need a lot of this kind of work to reduce risk for our families and homes, and to secure our nation.
Check it out – click the link below, then scroll down the left side to “Tuttle Creek Dam Project” or search for “
Tuttle Creek” in the search function.
Click
here to see the story.
ltg.van American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Corps Projects, Locks and Dams American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, American Society of Civil Engineers, Stimulus, Tuttle Creek Dam
We continue to focus on executing our role in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – also known as the “Stimulus Bill.” That’s one of the major elements of the ‘unprecedented’ workload I wrote about a few weeks ago, with $4.6 billion appropriated to us for Civil Works, another $2.9 billion in Military Programs, and $.8 billion more in our International and Interagency Services mission (providing technical assistance to non-Department of Defense (DoD) federal agencies, state and local governments, tribal nations, etc.).
Now that we’ve had a few months to get our arms around it, we’re really putting that money to good use as intended in the legislation. It’s great for jobs and the economy, and it’s really great for the nation’s infrastructure.
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We’ve already obligated 23 percent of the money for Civil Works projects, more than $1 billion! That’s going to fund some much-needed projects around the nation, like dredging to deepen navigation channels, critically needed operation and maintenance, and important environmental projects.
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On the Military Programs side of the house, we’ve obligated $221 million to begin to address a wide range of projects that will help to ensure that our servicemembers and their families are provided with the quality facilities, housing and care that they so richly deserve. And so far, our total International and Interagency Support Program obligations to date total $23.5 million.
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So you can see, we’re getting that stimulus money out there! These obligation numbers are increasing with every week – at a very fast pace! By the end of the year, we expect to have 2/3rds of our ARRA funds awarded.
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We’re moving quickly to get this money into the hands of the people who will create jobs, but we’re also moving efficiently to ensure that we make the best use of the taxpayer dollars we’ve been entrusted with in the Recovery Act. We’re “getting ‘er done” right!
ltg.van American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Contracting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, government contracting
I’ve been on the road traveling the country quite a bit lately, and I’ve been giving a lot of speeches, talking to a lot of people about all that we have going on right now. I find that I keep using the same word – “unprecedented.”
I was already using that word a lot, in relation to our massive military construction workload – the largest since WWII. I was already using it in relation to our civil works construction efforts, specifically in Louisiana. And all that was before the “stimulus” bill – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, signed by President Obama in February. Those four little letters, ARRA, are creating a mountain of work for us here at the Corps – a mountain we are ready to climb!
So, like I said, we were already using the word “unprecedented” to describe our workload, but now add to that $4.6 billion in civil works, $3.5 billion in military construction and $1 billion in Interagency and International Services work. I think the word “unprecedented” has unprecedented meaning for us now. But we are poised and ready to “get ‘er done!”
ltg.van American Recovery and Reinvestment Act American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, Civil Works, Military Programs