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2009 Economic Recovery Package
Rural Development Loan Funds Available
July 31 -- On July 29, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of $1.7 billion in Recovery Act funding to support projects that help spur business activity and economic growth in rural communities. The funding will be made available through USDA Rural Development's Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program.
Eligible applicants include cooperative organizations, corporations, partnerships, nonprofit groups, federally recognized Indian tribes, public bodies and individuals.
Funds will be targeted to creating and retaining quality jobs and serving difficult to reach populations, and areas hardest hit by the current economic downturn.
The deadline to apply is September 15, 2010, or until all funds are expended. For additional information on eligibility criteria and application assistance, contact your state Rural Development office, or visit www.rurdev.usda.gov for a listing of all state offices.
OMB to Host Webinars Regarding Recovery Act Funding
July 20 -- The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will hold webinars on July 20 – 23 to provide information on the reporting requirements set out in OMB Memorandum M-09-21, Implementing Guidance for the Reports on Use of Funds Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was released on June 22, 2009.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday, July 20
- Section 1: General Information
- Section 2: Basic Principles and Requirements of Recovery Act Recipient Reporting
- Section 5: Reporting on Jobs Creation Estimates by Recipients
Tuesday, July 21
- Section 3: Recipient Reporting Process Technology Solution from an Agency Perspective
Wednesday, July 22
- Technology Solution from a Prime Recipient Perspective
- Technology Solution from a Sub- Recipient Perspective
Thursday, July 23
- Section 4: Data Quality Requirements
For more information and to register for a specific session, visit www.recovery.gov/?q=node/658.
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USDA/NTIA Broadband Funding Available
July 13 -- On July 1, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Commerce announced the availability of $4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act loans and grants to help bring broadband service to unserved and underserved communities across America.
The Recovery Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to accelerate broadband deployment in areas of the country that have been without the high-speed infrastructure. Of that funding, NTIA will utilize $4.7 billion to deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, expand public computer center capacity and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. RUS will invest $2.5 billion to facilitate broadband deployment in rural communities.
NTIA and RUS will be accepting applications for loans, grants and loan/grant combinations to be awarded by each agency under a single application form. This is the first of three rounds of funding the Agriculture and Commerce Departments will provide. Applications will be accepted beginning July 14 through August 14, 2009
NTIA and USDA officials will also host public workshops in July to share information about the funding and application process. Forums will be held in Boston, MA; Charleston, WV; Minneapolis, MN; Memphis, TN; Lonoke, AR; Birmingham, AL; Billings, MT; Albuquerque, NM; and Los Angeles, CA.
Additional details regarding the application process and the workshops are available at www.broadbandusa.gov.
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Broadband Funding Not Subject to Buy America Provisions
July 13 -- On July 1, USDA and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Recovery Act funding made available to the two agencies for broadband activities will not be subject to the “Buy American” provisions included in the act. Section 1605(a) of the Recovery Act states that none of the funds, "may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States." However, USDA and NTIA have concluded that those provisions “would be inconsistent with the public interest” and will waive the requirements for broadband funding. For more information contact Ken Kuchno, Director, USDA Broadband Division at 202.720.1725 or the NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program at 202.482.5032.
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SBA Interim Final Rule
June 15 -- The Small Business Administration (SBA) has published an interim final rule for implementing an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) program. The rule establishes a temporary program to guarantee loans to small businesses experiencing immediate financial hardship. Loans made under this program, referred to as “America’s Recovery Capital Loan Program” (ARC Loan Program) can be used to make principal and interest payments on existing qualifying small business loans. ARC Loans are interest free to the borrower with SBA making the interest payment on the loan to the lender. As part of the interim final rule, SBA has established the initial interest rate for ARC Loans at prime plus two percentage points. For more information, contact Janet Tasker at ARCloanprogram@sba.gov.
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House Subcommittee Reviews Rural Development Programs
June 15 -- On June 10, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing to review the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) rural development programs and the status of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for these programs.
The Subcommittee heard testimony from two panels of witnesses, including Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager, who spoke about USDA’s rural development programs as well as ARRA funds targeted for those programs. The Subcommittee also heard from the Department’s Inspector General charged with overseeing recovery legislation funds, as well as representatives from rural communities.
The opening statements of all witnesses are available on the House Agriculture Committee website at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted at a later date.
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DHS Releases Recovery Fund Guidance
June 5 -- On May 29, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released application guidance for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparedness grants for fire station construction, port and transit security—funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The guidance covers $150 million for the Port Security Grant Program, $150 million for the Transit Security Grant Program and $210 million for the Fire Station Construction Grant Program.
Applications for the Port Security Grant Program and Transit Security Grant Program must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov. Applications for the Fire Station Construction Grant Program must be submitted electronically at https://portal.fema.gov. Full guidance and more information on preparedness grant programs can be found at www.dhs.gov.
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CDBG Stimulus Funding Subject to Davis-Bacon Provisions
June 5 -- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA; P.L. 111-05) enacted earlier this year provides $1 billion in stimulus related funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
Within the ARRA statute, provisions concerning Davis-Bacon requirements are more expansive than those requirements for the regular CDBG program. Under the regular CDBG program, there exists language exempting volunteer labor and residential properties of less than eight units from Davis-Bacon coverage. The stimulus bill does not contain these same waivers.
Recipients of CDBG stimulus funds should assume that Davis-Bacon requirements will apply to all construction work over $2,000, including the rehabilitation of residential properties containing seven of fewer units.
For additional information and to view the official guidance on the Davis-Bacon provisions, go to www.dol.gov/esa/whd/recovery/AAM207.pdf.
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Recovery Funding Available for Geothermal and Solar Energy Projects
May 29 -- On May 27, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the availability of over $467 million from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to help expand and accelerate the development, deployment and use of geothermal and solar energy.
Funding will support projects in four areas: geothermal demonstration projects ($140 million), Enhanced Geothermal Systems research and development ($80 million), innovative exploration techniques ($100 million), and a National Geothermal Data System, Resource Assessment and Classification System ($30 million).
Funding for solar energy will support three primary programs: Photovoltaic Technology Development ($51.5 Million), Solar Energy Deployment ($40.5 Million) and Solar Power Research and Development ($25.6 Million).
For additional information, visit DOE’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act Web page at www.energy.gov/recovery/funding.htm.
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First Broadband Grant Awards Scheduled
May 22 -- The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) expects to disburse its first set of broadband infrastructure grants by December 31, according to a plan the agency submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), NTIA received $4.7 billion to establish a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. The program will award funds to eligible entities to develop and expand broadband services to rural and underserved areas and improve access to broadband by public safety agencies.
NTIA submitted the following funding timeline:
- Procurement for grants program assistance services, March - June 2009
- Award contract for grants program support, June 2009
- Preparation for initial solicitation for proposals, April - June 2009
- Publish notice of funds availability, June 2009
- Initial proposal processing and review, September - December 2009
- Initial grant awards made, December 2009
- Second solicitation for proposals, October - December 2009
- Third solicitation for proposals, April - June 2010
- All awards to be made by September 30, 2010
Separately, USDA Rural Utility Service (RUS) was given $2.5 billion in ARRA funding to supplement its existing broadband grant, loan and loan guarantee programs. RUS has indicated that it anticipates publishing a notice of funds availability (NOFA) in June for the first round of funding and to begin making awards by the end of fiscal year 2009.
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White House Unveils Guidance to Accelerate Environmental Reviews
May 8 -- On May 4, the White House Council on Environmental Quality issued guidance on how federal agencies can speed up environmental review for projects using economic stimulus funds. The stimulus bill contained language requiring that project reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) be “completed on an expeditious basis and that the shortest existing applicable process under the National Environmental Policy Act shall be utilized.” To view the guidance, visit www.nepa.gov/nepa/regs/recovery_act_and_nepa_040309.pdf.
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HUD NSP Stimulus Funding Available
May 8 -- On May 4, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the availability of $2 billion in recovery act funds provided for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to assist communities affected by home foreclosures. Funds are available to states, local governments and non-profit housing developers to combat the effects of foreclosures. Applications are due July 17. HUD is making an additional $50 million available in technical assistance grants to help grantees better manage their NSP initiatives. The deadline to apply for technical assistance funds is July 8. For more information, visit www.hud.gov/recovery/nspg.cfm.
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DOE Revises EECBG Allocations
April 17 -- On April 10, the Department of Energy (DOE) released revised allocations for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG). Last month, DOE released a funding announcement for approximately $2.7 billion in estimated EECBG formula grants. However, based on incorrect formula data, 23 counties in Delaware, Kansas and Louisiana were inadvertently grouped as ineligible entities and excluded from the estimated allocation tables. DOE has now amended its allocation tables and new totals for these states are included on the DOE Recovery Act Web page at www.energy.gov/recovery.
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CSBG Recovery Funding Available
April 17 -- On April 10, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the availability of $1 billion for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
States will receive recovery funds under the same formula used for regular annual appropriations. The Recovery Act mandates that states pass no less than 99 percent of their Recovery Act allocations for grants to “eligible entities” under the CSBG Act, commonly referred to as Community Action agencies.
For more information, including a state-by-state funding breakdown, go to www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/acf/csbg.html.
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EPA Recovery Guidance Released
April 10 -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released guidance on how it plans to administer State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) funds provided under the Recovery Act. STAG funding includes $4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program and $2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program.
According to agency news releases, EPA will make Recovery Act grants to states to capitalize their State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, from which assistance is provided to eligible, publicly-owned treatment works and public water systems to finance high priority water infrastructure projects.
For more information, go to www.epa.gov/water/eparecovery.
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OMB Releases Recovery Guidance
April 3 -- On April 3, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act"). This is the second installment of detailed government-wide guidance for carrying out programs and activities enacted in the Recovery Act. The updated guidance supplements, amends and clarifies the initial guidance issued by OMB on February 18, 2009. Updates to the guidance are based on ongoing input received from the public, Congress, state and local government officials, grant and contract recipients and federal personnel. Full text of the guidance is available at www.recovery.gov.
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Head Start Recovery Funding Available
April 2 -- On April 2, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the availability of more than $2 billion in Recovery Act funding for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Of the total, $1 billion will be allocated for Head Start grants and $1.1 billion will be available for Early Head Start grants. Funds are only available for current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees. For more information, visit the HHS Recovery Web site at www.hhs.recovery.gov.
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Recovery Act Funding for USDA Housing Program Available
April 1 -- On April 1, USDA announced it will begin disbursing the first wave of $10 billion in guaranteed single family housing loans (Section 502) provided in the Recovery Act.
According to USDA press information, funding from the Recovery Act will initially provide 15,000 rural families with $1.76 billion in loan guarantees for home ownership financing, creating or saving approximately 7,500 jobs. Once all Recovery Act funding for rural housing is released ($7 billion directly to states and $3 billion held in reserve for higher need areas), it is estimated that 42,500 jobs will be created or saved. A state-by-state breakout of funding is available at www.rurdev.usda.gov/ARRASFH.pdf.
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Transit Funds Available for Green Projects
March 27 -- On March 24, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the availability of $100 million for transit agencies for projects that will lower their energy use or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Funding is available through a new Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program authorized in the stimulus bill.
In addition to energy use or greenhouse gas reductions, projects will be evaluated based on return on investment, project readiness and a transit agency’s ability to implement the project.
Projects should be between $2 million and $25 million. The federal share is 100 percent. For more information, visit FTA’s recovery site at www.fta.dot.gov/index_9118.html.
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Additional New Market Tax Credits Available
March 27 -- On March 26, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced an increased New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) allocation. Increase tax credits became available as a result of resources provided in stimulus legislation. CDFI has increased the available NMTC allocation for the 2009 round from $3.5 billion to$5 billion. For more information, visit www.cdfifund.gov.
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House Committee Issues Stimulus Guidance
March 27 -- On March 20, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee issued guidance to states, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) with populations above 200,000 and large transit agencies requesting they provide specific information regarding stimulus-funded projects by April 4.
Information requested by the committee includes total job hours created by stimulus-funded projects, total dollar amount of wages paid, and the aggregate expenditure from state sources for projects eligible for funding during the period of February 17, 2009 and September 30, 2010.
For more information, visit http://transportation.house.gov/singlepages/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=852.
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Administration Bars Lobbyists Input in Stimulus Decisions
March 27 -- On March 20, President Obama announced new guidelines governing federal funding decisions in allocating stimulus funds to state and local governments. The new guidelines require executive branch agencies and departments to ensure stimulus-funded projects are “merit based,” including a demonstrated or potential ability to:
- Deliver programmatic results
- Achieve economic stimulus by optimizing economic activity and the number of jobs created or saved in relation to the federal dollars obligated
- Achieve long-term public benefits by, for example, investing in technological advances in science and health to increase economic efficiency and improve quality of life; investing in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; fostering energy independence; or improving educational quality
- Satisfy the legislation’s transparency and accountability objectives
In addition, the guidelines prohibit officials from considering the views of registered lobbyists in decisions to fund specific stimulus projects.
For more information, visit www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Memorandum-for-the-Heads-of-Executive-Departments-and-Agencies-3-20-09/.
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CDFI Fund Announces Plan to Distribute Recovery Funding
March 20 -- On March 18, the Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund announced its plan to award funds made available through the Recovery Act. The Recovery Act provides an additional $90 million in CDFI Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards; $8 million for the Native American CDFI Assistance program; and $3 billion in additional tax credit authority for the New Markets Tax Credit program (FY2008 and FY2009). The CDFI Fund plans to award all the Recovery Act funds in less than 90 days and will begin disbursing the awards within 120 days. For additional information regarding CDFI’s distribution plan, go to www.cdfifund.gov/recovery/implementationplan.pdf.
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EPA to Offer Brownfields Training Grants as Part of Stimulus
March 20 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a new solicitation for Brownfields Job Training grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Applications will be accepted from eligible governmental entities and nonprofit organizations to provide environmental job training projects that will promote job creation and economic development by facilitating the assessment, remediation or preparation of brownfields sites. Eligible applicants must identify and propose to serve a community that currently receives, or has received, financial assistance (federal, state, or tribal) for brownfields assessment, revolving loan fund, cleanup, site-specific work carried out by state or tribal response programs and/or targeted brownfields assessments performed directly by EPA.
The agency is also seeking projects that can be started expeditiously by applicants who can demonstrate the ability to contribute to economic recovery through the creation and/or preservation of jobs.
Access the proposal guidelines and request for applications at www.epa.gov/brownfields/eparecovery. Proposals are due April 20, 2009.
For more information on brownfields-related issues contact NADO Program Manager Mike Bellamente at 202.624.7809 or mbellamente@nado.org.
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COPS Funding Available
March 20 -- On March 16, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it will begin accepting applications for $1 billion in Recovery Act funds for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP). CHRP is a competitive grant program that provides funding directly to law enforcement agencies. There is no local match requirement for CHRP, but grant funding will be based on current entry-level salary and benefits packages. Any additional costs for higher salaries or benefits for particular individuals hired will be the responsibility of the grantee. CHRP grants will provide 100 percent funding for approved entry-level salaries and benefits for three years for newly hired, full-time sworn officer positions (including filling existing unfunded vacancies), or for rehired officers who have been laid off or are scheduled to be laid off in the future. For more information and to submit an application, go to www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2108.
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Department of Energy Releases Recovery Funds
March 20 -- On March 12, the Department of Energy announced the availability of nearly $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency Recovery funds. Of this funding, approximately $5 billion will be available through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and $3 billion will be available through the State Energy Program.
WAP funding is designed to improve the energy efficiency of low-income homes. The State Energy Program funding will provide rebates to consumers for home energy audits or other energy saving improvements; to develop renewable energy and alternative fuel projects; to promote Energy Star products; to upgrade the energy efficiency of state and local government buildings; and other innovative state efforts to help families save money on their energy bills.
Initial applications are due March 23 and comprehensive applications are due May 12. More information is available on the Department of Energy Recovery Web site: www.energy.gov/recovery.
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NADO Power Point Presentations on Final Stimulus Legislation
February 18 -- NADO has developed two power point presentations on the final federal economic recovery package for use by NADO member organizations.
Version 1 of the power point can be used for presentations and Version 2 contains speaker notes and more detailed information. Both these presentations are only available to NADO members.
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