MERKLEY, WYDEN ANNOUNCE NEW RESOURCE GUIDE FOR COMMUNITIES TO NAVIGATE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
Washington, DC - This month, the federal government began to distribute billions of dollars in economic investment and recovery funding for job creation projects across America. Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today released a new resource guide on the funds and programs included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to help Oregonians better understand the opportunities for their communities.
"President Obama and Congress are committed to creating new jobs and arresting the economic freefall. The economic recovery package we passed last month will put Americans to work, cut taxes for working families, upgrade our infrastructure, jump start our green economy and help those most in need," said Merkley. "We understand that many Oregonians have questions about how the law will work and what resources are available for their areas. This resource guide will help answer those questions as well as provide assistance to communities about how they can get involved."
"For government programs to be helpful to Oregonians, Oregonians need to know how to ask for help. It is our hope that this guide will allow Oregonians to see what is in the recovery package, while learning how to take advantage of the many opportunities it provides," said Wyden.
Working with the office of Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, Merkley and Wyden have created a one-stop-shop for information related to the ARRA. The Oregon Resource Guide provides a detailed breakdown of the programs included in the ARRA as well as information on how to contact the state and federal agencies charged with distributing the funds.
The guide also includes estimates on how much funding Oregon specifically will receive in all programs where the funds are distributed based on pre-existing formulas as well as the total funds available through competitive grant programs. For example, the ARRA provided $27.5 billion nationwide for the Highway Improvement Program; $334 million will go to Oregon through existing formula calculations.
The full guide can be found on the websites of both Merkley and Wyden.
Senator Jeff Merkley: http://www.merkley.senate.gov/OR%20Resource%20Guide%20to%20the%20ARRA.pdf
Senator Ron Wyden: http://www.wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/arra_guide.pdf
The White House and Governor Kulongoski have also created websites where Oregonians can find more information on the program: www.recovery.gov and http://recovery.oregon.gov/.
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