Stimulus Aid Is Slowly Hitting The Streets

[babylonsister]

Stimulus Aid Being Doled Out, Slowly
Meeting Guidelines Is Taking Time

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 10, 2009; Page A01


Building repairs are underway on public housing in Imboden, Ark., and Cumberland, Ill., states across the country are receiving money to weatherize the homes of low-income residents, and the Silver Star Construction Co. is about to start work on two road-resurfacing projects in south-central Oklahoma with a total cost of $12 million.

"We were thrilled to get some work," said Steve Shawn, president of the company. "Some of the work had started slowing down from the economy. The new work came in just around the right time."

Slowly but surely, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- better known as the economic stimulus package -- is beginning to percolate nationwide, six weeks after President Obama signed the legislation.

Some of the money is arriving quickly, and in big chunks. The country's 1,100 community health clinics have received $337 million to help them handle the surge of newly unemployed and uninsured people needing care. An additional $155 million went to a more select group of 126 of the clinics, including $1.3 million for the Loudoun Community Health Center, which, after opening in 2007, has been seeing an increase in demand even though it is in an affluent area of Northern Virginia.

In most cases, though, the money is working its way into the system far more gradually as officials strive to meet not only existing guidelines for programs receiving aid but also reporting requirements that have been added to make sure that stimulus funding is spent as intended and to account for the jobs it creates.

As a result, White House officials say the bulk of the money will start hitting the streets later this year and early next, with the goal of spending 70 percent of it by the summer of 2010. As of Tuesday, $54 billion from the package had been "obligated," meaning that states, cities or other recipients could begin drawing from it, and $11.7 billion of that had been disbursed.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040904545.html

[Mari333]

1. 900,000 dollars allocated to our county here in MI to fix a fcking hiking trail

the trail was ONCE a RAILROAD LINE hooking up small towns to one another. Now its a trail for people to walk on. so, we are getting almost a million dollars to provide so called jobs to brush leaves off of it.
I would rather BRING BACK THE RAILROAD.
what a waste.

[babylonsister]

2. Do you know who decided that was a valid project?

That does seem ridiculous. Aren't the states deciding for themselves how to allocate the money?

[Mari333]

3. I am trying to find out, so far I havent

I am wondering if these are long awaited pork projects for some legislators who are getting their paybacks. I have lunch with the mayor every sunday and I am going to see if she knows anything. (yes, the town is that small lol)