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Stimulus package having tremendous impact on return to prosperity, LaHood says

WASHINGTON — The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is having a “tremendous impact” on the nation’s return to economic prosperity, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told an audience at the Center for National Policy Wednesday.

At the same time, he reminded those looking for a quick fix that ARRA is a long-term strategy.

 â€œMake no mistake: This is landmark legislation, the most sweeping, complex and ambitious domestic aid package we have enacted in generations,” LaHood said.  “But it’s important to remember that the Recovery Act was designed from the beginning as an 18-month program that rolls out in stages, using well-established procedures wherever possible to channel funds to states and other stakeholders.”

Six months after the ARRA was enacted, there is a great deal to show for the investments made, LaHood said.

And, he said to date not one case of serious fraud had been identified.

“That’s a remarkable achievement for a program moving at this pace — perhaps even unprecedented.  And it shows that we’re doing this the right way,” he said.

ARRA came along at a good time, LaHood said.

“I talk to governors, mayors, state transportation officials and private contractors on a weekly basis all over the country, and there is widespread agreement that without these well-timed federal investments in infrastructure and state services, we’d probably be in much worse shape,” he said.

In discussing the transportation piece of ARRA, LaHood said investments made in the transportation sector as well as the jobs protected or created were “enormously” important to the economic recovery.

 â€œCongress gave my Department more than 48 billion dollars in recovery funds to work with,” he said. “That’s equal to nearly two-thirds of our entire annual budget for fiscal 2010. It’s an enormous opportunity for us, and we’re working overtime to make the most of it.

“To date, we’ve made nearly half our funds – over $21 billion – available to the states so they can green-light priority projects to rebuild and modernize roads, bridges, transit systems, airports, and seaports.”

He said over 6,300 transportation projects had been approved.

“The perception that we haven’t moved quickly enough is simply not true,” LaHood said. “The fact is we’ve moved money out the door nearly twice as fast as we do for some of our regular formula programs.  And the states aren’t dragging their feet, either. Every state beat the Congressional deadline to obligate 50 percent of their highway stimulus funds within the first 120 days.

“Remember, too, that the outdoor construction season is still ramping up. That means thousands more projects, thousands more jobs, and billions more stimulus dollars are still waiting to be activated.

“So there’s an upward curve here. And because bids are generally coming in lower than anticipated, most states will be able to fund additional projects in the future – many more than we expected, in fact.”

LaHood cited examples.

In Pennsylvania, he said ARRA had boosted the state’s fiscal 2009 highway and bridge construction program by more than half, adding over a billion dollars to the budget.

“That means more than 200 infrastructure projects are funded today that would not even be on the books otherwise.  It means thousands of private-sector jobs will be saved or created, and lay-offs will be avoided.  It means the outdated, structurally deficient bridge in Carlisle can finally be replaced.  And it means that Pennsylvania can count on good jobs for months to come.”

In April, contractors working in Pennsylvania reported that stimulus funds helped them sustain or create about 130 jobs, LaHood said, noting that by May, the total jumped to over 700 jobs.

“In Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Georgia and elsewhere, this story is being repeated,” LaHood said.  “I have personally met with workers around the country who would not be getting paid this week without stimulus-funded transportation jobs.  And because they are working, they can support their families, pay their bills, and pump some dollars back into their local economy.

“While the Recovery Act cannot make up for all the jobs our economy has shed, every single job these investments help to protect, every worker who’s recalled from a layoff, every new college graduate who finds that crucial first job, counts as a victory.”

The Center for National Policy directly engages Capitol Hill and the executive branch on the nation’s most important national security issues.

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