House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) discusses how some of the $2 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act designated for higher education will go toward developing programs at Hispanic and historically black colleges. (0:28)
By Marianna Levyash-Talk Radio News Service
With the first quarterly round of spending data from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) looming to be released tomorrow, there are concerns that the data will be incomplete.
The Coalition for Accountable Recovery (CAR), a collection of several groups seeking to promote transparency and accountability over the use of recovery act funds, fear that the data will provide debatable numbers regarding jobs that have been created through ARRA not reflect spending by the ultimate recipients.
“We know this is a first time effort, and in any first time effort, and in any first time effort you’re going to have data quality concerns, said Executive Director of OMB Watch, Gary D. Bass.
Despite the concerns, CAR added that certain aspects of ARRA, such as the act’s website which allows users to track funds, have made strides in transparency and accountability.
“When it comes to contracts, grants, and loans, the Recovery Act is the most transparent federal spending bill ever enacted,” said Bass.
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Education Secretary Arne Duncan touched upon the $100 billion that has been provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for education Monday at the Conressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 2009 Public Policy Conference, stating “While the money might not be enough, and money alone is not the answer, it doesn’t hurt to have $100 billion dollars.”
The Secretary added that there are many urgent challenges facing education reform, but that he is optimistic over the future of the U.S. school system.
“We have a tall and ambitious agenda”, said Duncan. “We need to dramatically increase access [to education] and make sure it’s quality access… not just glorified babysitting.”
Secretary Duncan proposed the U.S. invest in early childhood education, adding “It’s the best investment you can make.”
Duncan also suggested the U.S. recognize talent in the education field by rewarding and shining a spotlight on great teachers, mentors and also principals. The Secretary also outlined his goal to cut drop out rates in underserved communities.
By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service
The economy is far from healthy according to Christina Romer Council of Economic Advisers Chair, but the adviser is still optimistic over the effectiveness of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“We are urging serious medicine for serious economic problems. If we can accomplish these important changes we will not only come through the current crisis, we will emerge even stronger and healthier than before.” said Romer Thursday at an Economic Club of Washington event.
The Recovery Act provided $787 billion of tax cuts and government spending. Romer said that makes it “the boldest counter cyclical fiscal stimulus in American history.” She noted that the economy was deteriorating rapidly when President Obama announced his economic team just before Thanksgiving.
While the plan has garnered a substantial amount of controversy, Romer pointed to the use of fiscal stimulus to help weak economies by past presidents including Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush.
“In the past few months, some have tried to portray fiscal stimulus as an exotic tool with a questionable pedigree,” said Romer. “To use a medical analogy, fiscal stimulus is a well-tested antibiotic, not some new-fangled gene therapy.”
She said the effects of the Recovery will increase over time and they expect the fiscal stimulus to be “roughly $100 billion in each of the next five quarters.” Initially the stimulus was focused more heavily toward tax changes and state fiscal relief, but there will be more direct government investments as it continues.
“The President aimed for a package that was large and got good employment bang for the fiscal buck,” said Romer.
By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has been successful in providing and saving jobs in the transportation sector, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Wednesday. He also pointed out that we are only four months into a two year recovery plan, so most results aren’t yet perceptible.
Durbin says the government has provided checks for $60.4 billion and has allocated $234 billion of the total $787 billion stimulus package. Ed Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, said that an historic $48 billion of the stimulus will be spent on transportation.
“I wish the recession would end tomorrow but we have to be patient…for those who say ‘accelerate payments,’ I have the same basic feeling myself. But I just know from human and government experience that haste does make waste. Let’s make sure these funds are well invested and well spent,” said Durbin.
Wytkind discussed the multiplier effect that occurs when the transportation industry spends money that simultaneously benefits other sectors of the economy, such as the steel and lumber industries.
Wytkind criticized former President George W. Bush’s administration for neglecting to use the transportation industry as a mode for job creation. “The fact is that Americans are hurting, our members are hurting, because of eight years of do-nothing economic policies. [President Obama and the new Congress] are wedded to turning around an economy that is reeling,” said Wytkind.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif) laments the failings of the American Reinvestment Recovery Act, saying the Obama administration’s promise that the bill would create or save 3.5 million jobs and keep the unemployment rate from rising above 8 percent hasn’t come true. (0:16)
By Annie Berman — Talk Radio News Service
U.S. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.) has introduced the “The Preserving Access to Targeted, Individualized, and Effective New Treatments and Services (PATIENTS) Act of 2009. The bill prohibits the federal government from using “comparative effectiveness research,” to determine the care of a patient based on cost rather than on effectiveness.
“Government should not be funding research which it is then going to use in one way or another to ration health care for Americans to decide what diagnostics, treatments, or prescriptions, or care can be allowed under any kind of federal program,” Kyl said.
The Senator explained that the problem with using “comparative effectiveness research” (CER) is that not all treatments are appropriate for all patients; even if a particular treatment is more cost effective, it may not be effective in treating a patient’s particular ailment.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the “Stimulus Bill,” allocated $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research. However, the stimulus bill did not include any securities to prevent that money from being used to ration health care. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it would use the stimulus money for this specific purpose.
“Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY). That’s how they evaluate your life…They say that your life is worth a certain amount. And if the cost of a particular treatment exceeds that amount, sorry. You don’t get it. And that varies with your age,” said Kyl.
“I don’t want America to begin rationing care to our citizens in the same way other countries do. The first step on that slippery slope is the CER…We need to stop that research from being used by the federal government for treatment or care.”
By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified on the financial situation and on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today.
Geithner said that “There are important indications that our financial system is starting to heal.”
Signs that we are on the right path include ”New securities issuance has started to revive, Spreads for AAA credit card receivables asset-backed securities (ABS) have fallen about 330 basis points from there peak. There has been more issuance of consumer ABS in the past two months than in the preceding five moths combines,” said Geithner.
loans of similar types, duration and interest rates.”
Starting with the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007, “Unexpected losses experienced by major banks on mortgage-back securities set off a vicious cycle” as Geithner describes.
As a result, the government implemented the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in February 17, 2009.
The act provides transparency and accountability so that taxpayers know where every dollar is going. Additionally, the ARRA “is giving 95% of working Americans a tax cut, creating or saving 3.5 million jobs, providing nearly 4 million students with a new higher education tax and helping 1.4 million Americans purchase their first home by providing $6.5 in tax credits,” said Geithner.
In terms of lending, which was significantly cut as banks lost their capital, Geithner said “The recovery program included any substantive increasing guarantees and a reduction in fees for small businesses lending programs, and we’ve seen lending under those programs increase 25% since the Recovery Act was passed.”
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, mitigated these arguments by saying, “I think the picture remains mixed after losing some 5.1 million jobs since the recession began.”
Geithner concurred, and added “In many parts of the country, many people don’t feel it’s getting better yet, they don’t really feel that the availability of credit is improving.”
“Treasury is continuing to look into additional metrics that gauge the markets more broadly, as well as additional economic metrics, to determine the effectiveness of the current strategy and whether additional or different steps are needed,” Geithner said.
by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
Vice President Joe Biden and members of Congress announce that Amtrak will be receiving $1.3 billion in grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand rail capacity.
by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
“In the years I’ve been with the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration], I never thought I’d see the day when a strong and decisive commitment would be made on behalf of Amtrak,” said Jo Strang, the Acting Federal Railroad Administrator at a press conference where Vice President Joe Biden and members of Congress announced that Amtrak would be receiving $1.3 billion in grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand rail capacity.
Vice President Joe Biden who has been a passenger on Amtrak for over 7,000 round trips said that Amtrak has been neglected in funding. “Amtrak relies on some subsidies. Every, every, every, every passenger rail system in the world relies on subsidies. We subsidize our highways and airports more than we subsidize Amtrak….Amtrak has been left out much too long in my humble opinion,” he stated. Biden also expressed that the $1.3 billion will nearly double Amtrak’s investment program over the next two years. “It is work that will take care of critical, long neglected needs. It will put people to work immediately and it’s an investment of dollars that will not only create jobs now but yield benefits for our economy for years to come. It will begin to build a platform for the economy in the 21st century.”
Amtrak depends on American tax funds and employs more than 19,000 Americans. 500,000 Americans use Amtrak a week, which amounts to 80,000 passengers a day. In the fiscal year of 2008 Amtrak set a record by transporting 28.7 million people, the most in Amtrak’s history.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) who attended the conference said “We lose about 4.2 billion hours a year to congestion on our roads….We lose close to 3 billion gallons of gasoline, just people sitting there going nowhere in congestion.” Kerry said that this money will help not only Amtrak but it will help better the environment as well. “It’s going to make America more productive. It’s going to make us more environmentally friendly, it’s going to increase the productivity, it’s going to create jobs, and it’s going to create a sustainable economy,” he concluded.
Some of the funding will go towards the replacement of the movable bridge over the Niantic River on the northeast corridor in Connecticut, for repairing damaged passenger cars, repairs to Amtrak facilities nationwide, and construction of a new station for the auto train in Sanford, Florida.
