Stimulus: 120 days in, States and Territories reach ambitious obligation benchmarks early, DOT creates jobs

Today, I joined Vice President Biden at the White House to announce the fulfillment of important Recovery Act benchmarks.

The Obama Administration has been committed to getting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars into the economy as quickly as possible. 120 days after ARRA's enactment, the nation's 55 states and territories have done their part well.

And, I'm happy to report that the DOT has reached some milestones of its own.

Thanks to strong DOT partnerships with state and regional stakeholders, every state and territory has met the deadline to obligate 50 percent of their highway recovery funds within 120 days. That's right; every single one.

Now, it's on to creating more jobs and rebuilding more of America's infrastructure.

DOT has already $19 billion--roughly 40% of the $48.1 billion available. Those funds have propelled more than 5,300 projects to repair and rebuild roads, bridges, airport facilities, transit systems, and seaports.

More than 1,900 of these projects are now under way. The Recovery Act is working. And as we reach the height of the summer construction season, more work will soon begin.

Read more below about DOT stimulus milestones...

DOT obligations have been made rapidly and responsibly.

• Federal Highway Administration: obligated $15.4 billion to date for more than 4,800 projects.
• Federal Aviation Administration: selected projects worth 99.5 percent of its total ARRA funding and allocated over $1 billion to airports throughout the country.
• Federal Transit Administration: awarded 114 grants to transit agencies for a total obligation to date of $1.4 Billion in ARRA funds.
• Federal Railroad Administration: approved $1.1 billion for 8 ARRA-funded Amtrak projects.

Further DOT stimulus funds will hit the economy in the near future:

• TIGER Discretionary Grants Program: accepting applications until mid-September for $1.5 billion to be awarded with particular emphasis on economically-distressed areas and strong job-creation potential.
• High-Speed Rail: accepting applications for $8 billion in inter_city passenger rail grants to be awarded by mid-September.

Clearly, our work is not finished. There are still many more projects to be funded. Jobs to be created. And roads, bridges, airports, and seaports to be readied.

I'm looking forward to a busy summer here in DC. Thanks to the Obama Administration's stimulus, so are thousands of employed workers around the country.

Comments

[Blogger]

I am glad to hear that the stimulus is under way. Americans need jobs desperately. I wish Obama would cut taxes instead of raise them. Who is going to pay for all these government jobs? I do like driving on roads without holes and or bridges that do not fall down, so I can't complain too much.

[Andrew Sutton]

How do you suppose all these jobs will be paid for without raising taxes? I guess maybe the tooth fairy is going to pay for? Put your wish under your pillow and see how that works for you. We are in an economic crisis, in order to fix this we all have to do our part and if that means having to pay a little more taxes so be it. Men and women are sacrificing their lives every day for our freedom and way of life in this country. If we have to pay a little extra in taxes to sustain our way of life in this country then I think it is the least we can do.