What is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)?
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The Act has three main goals:
1) Create new jobs and save existing ones
2) Spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth
3) Increase transparency in government spending
Projects made possible by the Act include: Interstate Highways, roads, sidewalks, buildings, training for green jobs, firehouses, and building retrofits. The Act also enhances the "safety net" for people out of work. Those benefits include: Medicaid, unemployment compensation and nutrition assistance programs. The legislation also provides nearly $300 billion in tax cuts and benefits for working families and businesses.
http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx
What is Louisville at Work?
Louisville at Work is a team created by Mayor Abramson in response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The Louisville at Work (L@W) team helps to prioritize projects and apply for federal grants made available as part of the ARRA.
Also, L@W helps taxpayers understand how stimulus funds are utilized in the Louisville/Jefferson County area. By doing so, L@W follows increases transparency on the use of stimulus funding.
http://www.louisvilleky.gov/recovery
How much money has Louisville received?
After almost a year and a half from the signing of the ARRA, Louisville is in the process of receiving about $458 million.
How are funds used?
Recovery Act funds are used in many ways. Examples include: serving new and uninsured patients, renovating health clinics and other government buildings, installing energy-efficient street lights, synchronizing traffic lights, installing ADA compliant curbs, launching pilot projects that promote the use of electronic health records, weatherizing homes and awarding pell grants to increase college affordability.
How have the funds created jobs?
The Recovery Act creates jobs in three broad ways:
1) Direct jobs are funded by spending Recovery Act funds on a project. Example: Construction workers on-site replacing sidewalks.
2) Indirect jobs are created from suppliers who make the materials used for a project. Example: the steel, asphalt and concrete used on a highway project.
3) Induced jobs are the jobs created elsewhere in the economy as increases in income from direct government spending lead to additional increases in spending by workers and firms.
Example: the waiter at a local restaurant who is hired to serve the construction workers who stop by for lunch.
How does the Recovery Act serve my neighborhood/community?
Over 10,000 individuals have been helped and over 4,000 housing units have been renovated over the past year.
Please see the stimulus map to view ARRA projects in your neighborhood.
Where can I get more information?
Please visit the following websites for more information