As much as we like to have fun here, we also have to pay attention to the real developments that are affecting all of our wallets:
Quickly circulating are copies of the House’s new Economic Stimulus Bill, which lawmakers will introduce to the floor on Monday. It includes the obvious economic recovery provisions, but also introduces some major goals with regards to high-speed broadband Internet accessibility for almost every citizen, as well as streamlined technology for accessing medical information.
The bill, entitled the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009″ (or ARARA, what a fun acronym), is a behemoth at 647 pages long, but we’re giving you some highlights of what could be the economy’s first major step in the right direction.
For one thing, the Obama administration is launching www.recovery.gov, the online hub for citizens to check how and where the government is spending our tax dollars. Also, according to the bill:
The website shall provide a means for the public to give feedback on the performance of contracts awarded for purposes of carrying out this Act.
Now, let’s get the fun stuff out of the way:
None of the funds… may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool.
And of course, we here in Chicago loved this part: Illinois can’t receive these funds unless the funds’ use is approved by Illinois lawmakers after the bill is passed, OR unless “Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois.” (Thankfully, the bill allows the federal government to give these funds directly to local city/municipal/etc. governments, just not to the State while Blago’s around. Thanks, a-hole.)
-The bill calls for the creation of a “Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board,” which will naturally have the task of ensuring this money is being spent according to plan, that violators are accounted for, and that the public is well aware of what’s going on. I may be overstretching it, but the notion that there wasn’t some kind of effective regulatory body prior to this is pretty unsettling.
-In general there appears to be a lot of oversight outlined here. The bill specifically outlines protection for whistleblowers who report spending abuses by private contractors, state, and local governments. Plus, almost all these agencies are required to post websites, similar to recovery.gov, that detail what exactly is going on behind the scenes. (I sense an “I Can HAz Loan Garanteeez” blog in the works! Operated, of course, by Rahm Emanuel.)
- For Small Businesses: The bill will now allow the Small Business Administration to “guarantee up to 95 percent of qualifying small business loans made by eligible lenders.” That 95 percent figure is way up from the previous 80 percent, presumably with the goal of getting businesses borrowing again.
-LOTS of money for job training and education programs, both for newly unemployed Americans but particularly for veterans and young adults (age 21 and younger). There’s $1.2 billion set aside for developing youth activities, including summer jobs for young people.
- $3.4 billion for local nonprofits and municipal agencies to revive neighborhoods with high foreclosure rates and abandoned homes. Among other things, this money would be used to demolish abandoned homes and rebuild/rehab them to sell to moderate-income-level home buyers.
- LOTS of money for Energy and work relating to environment preservation: $18.5 billion towards Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, both in R&D and infrastructure (but mostly in R&D); $1 billion for habitat restoration and climate mitigation; and a weird one, $2.4 billion to “Fossil Energy” technology.
- The bill is tackling health-care technology head-on. For one, it is establishing a Health Technology Czar in charge of improving how medical professionals, hospitals, patients, etc. can access their personal health information cheaply and easily, with the intent of improving quality of care and lowering the cost of care.
-Lastly, the bill allocates $2.85 billion on Internet and Broadband Development. Most importantly, there is now a goal to ensure that every single person in the country has access to broadband Internet.
This is such an interesting development, in my opinion, so I’m just including a big block from the bill detailing the plan:
SEC. 6003. NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN.
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Federal Communications Commission shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, a report containing a national broadband plan.
(b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The national broadband plan required by this section shall seek to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and shall establish benchmarks for meeting that goal. The plan shall also include—
(1) an analysis of the most effective and efficient mechanisms for ensuring broadband access by all people of the United States;
(2) a detailed strategy for achieving affordability of such service and maximum utilization of broadband infrastructure and service by the public;
and
(3) a plan for use of broadband infrastructure and services in advancing consumer welfare, civic participation, public safety and homeland security, community development, health care delivery, energy independence and efficiency, education, worker training, private sector investment, entrepreneurial activity, job creation and economic growth, and other national purposes.
And that’s about all I could find that stood out, so let’s see what happens on Monday.
Tags: economy, housing, small business, stimulus plan
