Tuesday, April 21, 2009

 

Recovery Update: Where to look for stimulus info?

This is the inaugural posting in a new series providing regular updates on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as it is implemented.

There is more information coming out on the ARRA and its programs nearly every day. But specifics are sometimes difficult to find, and cutting through the clutter to find good, reliable, up-to-date, simple information can be challenging.

After literally hours of searching and reading, and killing a small forest-worth of trees printing out materials, I’ve compiled this list of the best sources online for stimulus information (all in my opinion of course).

TIMING OF INFORMATION RELEASE
Ninety days from enactment (May 15, 2009) is the deadline for most federal agencies to submit their plans to Congress. We expect there to be many more specifics available after that date. Some departments are moving more quickly than others.

GENERAL INFORMATION
www.Recovery.gov – the official website of the Obama Administration. Rumor is that the final destination of each stimulus dollar will be posted on this website as information become available. For now, the “Featured News” section is most helpful – they compile the releases from all federal departments and link directly to the sites.

www.Recovery.Ohio.gov – Governor Strickland’s official recovery website. As project funding is announced, it will be posted here. If you have a project for which you are seeking stimulus funding, you MUST submit an expression of interest through this website to be considered (and do it as soon as possible as some programs are closing shortly). When you click on “submit a proposal” it also links to a series of documents that lists programs distributed by various levels of government.

http://Brown.senate.gov/ – Senator Sherrod Brown has a special section of his website dedicated to the recovery act. Resources under “Economic Recovery Package” are very helpful and updated frequently. I found the grant deadlines document especially helpful – Senator Brown’s staff has done some of the work for us!

www.StateRecovery.org – a resource from the Council of State Governments, examines recovery funding from a state perspective. The “Key Deadlines” and “State Responses” sections are particularly interesting.

SPECIFIC PROGRAMS
Each federal department has created a special recovery website (this is part of the transparency guidelines for the ARRA). They are usually in the form : website/recovery (examples: www.hud.gov/recovery, www.hhs.gov/recovery, www.ed.gov/recovery) Here you can find specific program information and allocations as they become available. HUD and Education have also done several webcasts on specific issues that are very helpful if you are interested in those particular programs.

One thing I’ve found most helpful is to google search the program name (in quotes) and “recovery act” – this can quickly connect you to info put out by national organizations about specific programs. Keep in mind many programs existed before ARRA, and while some have been slightly modified, you can usually find some good info on how the money has been distributed in the past.

If you still have questions, it may be time to call the Governor's Office (614-644-5320 for the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives), Senator Brown's Office (1-888-896-OHIO) or your U.S. House Member. Or send me an e-mail. Who knows, your question might be the topic of a future "Recovery Update" post!

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