Sign Up for My Email Newsletter!

Your Email Address:
   

 

 

Inaugural 2009

The Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Congress recently passed and President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also called “the stimulus.”

The package is larger in size and scope than almost anything our government has ever done. It is designed to cut taxes and create or save 3.5 million jobs.  Hopefully, it will jump start the economic recovery we so badly need.

In addition to bettering our community by improving roads, schools and other infrastructure, the stimulus will help individual Americans get back on their feet.  Some of the available assistance below may make a difference in your life.

 Tax Relief :

Gives 95 percent of working San Diegans a tax cut of up to $400 per individual. This tax cut will occur automatically through the payroll process.

Provides middle-class San Diegans with relief for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and lends our working families a helping hand by expanding the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

All tax relief is for the 2009 tax year.  To find out more about tax implications of the Recovery Act, contact your accountant or the Internal Revenue Service at or 1-800-829-1040 .

Healthcare:

Makes a significant investment in healthcare research including finding a cure to deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s.

Small Businesses:

Helps small businesses weather the storm with expanded tax credits and more loan guarantees from the Small Business Administration.

Find out more: http://sba.gov/ or 1-800-U-ASK-SBA

Seniors:

Eases economic strain on seniors whose only income is Social Security with a $250 rebate payment.

Increases funding for elderly nutrition services such as Meals on Wheels and Congregate Meals.

Veterans:
Provides disabled veterans with a $250 payment to help meet living expenses and adds an extra $1 billion for upgrades and repairs to veterans’ medical facilities and veterans’ cemeteries.

College Students:
Makes college more affordable by substantially increasing Pell Grants and work-study opportunities. 

Creates a new $2,500 tax credit to help families pay for college.

People who are currently unemployed:

Extends unemployment benefits to 33 weeks and increases the weekly payment to $325.

Provides additional funds to retrain workers to make them more competitive in the job market. 

Provides a 65 percent subsidy payr COBRA healthcare premiums for up to nine months. for workers involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009

Accountability and Transparency

The Recovery Act contains the highest level of accountability to the American people.   All contract announcements, grant competitions, awards, grant allocations must be posted on the recovery.gov website.  Projects funded must include a description, cost estimate, and justification for why public money should be used.  Governors, mayors and others making funding decisions must personally certify that the investment has been fully analyzed and is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.  In addition, an independent board will oversee the use of The Recovery Act dollars and report to the American people on the progress of the spending.

Home Foreclosures

Although the current housing crisis first started with subprime mortgages, the problem has spread to other types of mortgages as well.  The President recently introduced a comprehensive plan to slow and stem the tide of foreclosures.  The first part of the President’s plan helps 4-5 million responsible borrowers refinance into lower rate mortgages.  The President also plans to help 3-4 million at-risk homeowners modify their loans to more sustainable monthly payments.  Congress is doing its part as well, providing additional funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which helps make sure that foreclosed properties do not stay vacant, thereby driving down property values for homeowners nearby.

Projecting for the Future

While much of the recovery package is intended to solve meet our immediate financial needs, a good portion of it uses this opportunity to prepare our country for the future.

Green Jobs and Construction:  The Recovery Act makes a much-needed investment in our energy future.  It provides over $20 billion in tax incentives to help our engineers and entrepreneurs develop new ways of increasing energy efficiency and better utilizing renewable fuels.  It also puts money directly into building a more efficient electrical grid, weatherizing homes, and upgrading government buildings to make them more energy efficient. This public-private partnership will both create high-paying jobs now and ensure that the Green Economy is here to stay for years to come.

Healthcare IT:  The Recovery Act makes a down payment on President Obama’s plans for healthcare reform by investing $19 billion in the adoption of Health Information Technology (Health IT) systems.  These critical technological upgrades will modernize our medical records for the information age.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that within 10 years, over 90 percent of doctors and 70 percent of hospitals will have access to electronic medical records, saving taxpayers $12 billion not to mention hundreds of thousands of lives.  The new secure electronic system will emphasize patient privacy.

Transit:  Mass transit not only relieves traffic congestion and reduces carbon emissions, it also saves American commuters 4.2 billion gallons of gas a year.  The Recovery Act helps us execute the vision of a more interconnected America by providing critical funding for upgrading our existing mass transit lines and building new links to bring buses, trains, and trolleys.  In addition to making it easier for us to get around our cities, the Recovery Act also provides funding to build intercity railways. Put these pieces together and we will be well on our way to a clean, green, integrated transportation network.

Learn More

To find out more about The Recovery Act, please visit www.recovery.gov.  On that site, you can read the full text of the bill, see timelines and a full accounting of the how the money is being spent.

Read Susan’s statement on the Recovery Act here