Tracking the Stimulus and Economic Recovery

While the 2009 Economic Stimulus package continues to be controversial and its effectiveness endlessly debated, obtaining information on how the stimulus package is being implemented continues to be an important part of the democratic process. Accessing this information plays an important role in allowing individuals to both participate in the program, as well as monitor its development.


The government created a website to provide information about how stimulus money is being spent and track the effectiveness of stimulus programs. Users can find information on how money has been allocated, report jobs that have been saved, apply for funds, and report fraud or abuse of stimulus funding.

                                     

 

Learn more at: Recovery.gov

Economic Stimulus Plan Web Sites

If you are seeking information about the stimulus plans, in addition to the Obama Administration's Recovery.gov which helps Americans track spending from the $787 Billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, several federal and independent agencies have pertinent web sites:


IRS Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 highlights the following topics:

• COBRA: Health Insurance Continuation Subsidy


• Tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers


• Tax credit of $400 or $800 for many taxpayers


• $250 payment to Social Security Recipients, Veterans and Railroad Retirees


• Deductions for state and local sales taxes for purchasing certain new 2009 vehicles


• Tips to avoid Recovery Rebate Credit confusion

FinancialStability.gov from the U.S. Department of the Treasury contains links about making housing affordable, the Consumer and Business Lending Initiative (TALF), the Capital Assistance Program (CAP), the Financial Stability Plan, fact sheets, and press releases and statements.

The fiscal year 2010 budget overview from the Office of Management and Budget describes the Obama Administration's fiscal policies and major budgetary initiatives.

State Economic Stimulus Plans from the National Conference of State Legislatures provides details about state-level stimulus plans for 16 states.

Stimulus Watch describes projects that are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the stimulus bill passes. This site allows people with local knowledge about the proposed projects in their cities to find, discuss, and rate the projects.

Track Spending from the Economic Stimulus Package

To enable Americans to track spending from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law on Tuesday, Feb. 17, the Obama Administration has created Recovery.gov. The site includes a video introduction by President Obama, graphs that chart spending by major categories, timelines of major milestones, a place to share how the Recovery Act is affecting you, and a link to the complete bill.

Economic Stimulus Bill Details

(Additional content posted on 10/3/08)

To see how your Congress member voted on the Economic Stimulus Bill, click on House Vote #674 (Sept. 29, 2008). GovTrack.us, an open source independent tool to track the status of current U.S. federal legislation, has also created a line-by-line comparison of the texts of the drafts. The senate vote passing the amendment is also available.

Another site worth checking out is Public Markup.org which gives you the opportunity to comment online about proposed bills. You can see what the public has posted regarding the Senate Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Sponsored by the Sunlight Foundation, the site collects "legislation, summaries, resources and commentary in a single linkable location" in order to give the public a chance to refine a bill to make it more palatable to lawmakers.