Recovery Act

The federal government has begun to distribute billions of dollars in economic investment and recovery funding for job creation projects across America.  Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden released a new resource guide on the funds and programs included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to help Oregonians better understand the opportunities available to their communities.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is helping create jobs in Oregon and put our economy back on track.  If you'd like to learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, you can read the full guide here.

The White House and Governor Kulongoski have also created websites where Oregonians can find more information on the program: www.recovery.gov and http://recovery.oregon.gov/.

Below is a breakdown of the economic impact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will have on Oregonians.  In addition to the programs listed below, Oregon is eligible to compete for millions of dollars in competitive grants in areas ranging from clean energy to transportation to public safety.

Working Families:

• $700 million will go to more than 1.4 million Oregon families through the Making Work Pay tax credit.   
• $168.33 million in one-time payments of $250 for Social Security, Railroad Retirement, Veterans Disability, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries.
• $22,510,354 to support child care for working families.

Energy:

• $33,501,500 in block grants to foster energy efficiency in building, transportation, and a wide range of other improvements.
• $38,512,236 to support the weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment.
• $42,182,000 to the State Energy Program, available for rebates to consumers for energy saving improvements; development of renewable energy projects; promotion of Energy Star products; efficiency upgrades for state and local government buildings; and other innovative state efforts to help save families money on their energy bills.

Education:

• $848,700,207 potentially available to Oregon to lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save thousands of teaching jobs at risk due to state and local budget cuts.

Health Care:

• $5,977,971 to expand services at 25 existing Community Health Centers, which will expand service to an additional 32,506 patients and create or save a projected 120 jobs.
• $1,219,482 to provide meals to low-income seniors.
• $155,826,609 made available in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to protect health care for the families hit hard by the economic crisis and some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
• $2,490,016 in vaccines and grants to ensure more underserved Americans receive the vaccines they need.

Transportation:

• $333,902,389 in highway funds to help build and repair roads and bridges.
• $75,716,939 to repair and build public transportation infrastructure.

Law Enforcement:

• More than $22 million for state and local law enforcement assistance available through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The JAG Program supports a variety of efforts such as hiring and support for law enforcement officers; multijurisdictional drug and gang task forces; crime prevention and domestic violence programs; and courts, corrections, treatment, and justice information sharing initiatives.