From the outbox of Meyer’s inbox:
Much has been made of the major stimulus bill enacted when President Obama first took office. Some saw it as the only way to bring our economy back from the brink. Others thought it to be the perfect example of government overspending. As the funds wind down (the plan expires in December) the race is on to get the money out to the states. So far at least 40% of infrastructure projects have been completed. Does that mean 60% more projects are on the way? Let’s hope so.
US STIMULUS INFRASTRUCTURE STIMULUS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS 40% COMPLETE
Aug 26 (Reuters) – Work on more than 40 percent of infrastructure projects spurred by the federal stimulus plan is complete, a Congressional panel said on Thursday, as the $814 billion package of spending and tax measures enters its final months.
While the plan, which expires in December, included just $38 billion for highway, transit and wastewater projects, the American public has scrutinized how it has been spent and how it has impacted the labor market.
Much of the money was to be dedicated to “shovel-ready” projects that could quickly create work for unemployed construction workers. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said that 19,037 projects representing $35.1 billion of the stimulus funds have been put out to bid and work has begun on 17,820 projects representing $34.1 billion.
Work is already finished on 7,889 of those projects, representing $6.3 billion, the committee said. Democrats have focused more on bidding and the number of contracts signed, saying that is when workers are hired and the money begins to affect employment levels.
Republicans in Congress have said that the money only has impact when it is spent and have worried that the funds are not reaching states quickly enough. The stimulus projects for repairing highways and bridges are under way in Maine, New Hampshire, Utah and Wyoming, the committee said.
President Barack Obama’s administration has dubbed this the “Summer of Recovery,” because it expected to see most of the infrastructure projects in the plan — which is also known as the recovery act — completed.
Hawaii comes last in the committee’s rankings of stimulus infrastructure spending. In that state, only two-thirds of the projects granted to the state are under way and just 77 percent have been put out to bid.
