Tools to understand the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a massive legislative package proposed by the Obama administration and passed by Congress in February 2009. The ARRA aims to stimulate the United States economy by expanding funding to a host of different government programs and government funded contracts, by providing tax relief to individuals, and by assisting states and local governments currently facing budget shortfalls. The following presentation was created by Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency for the Berkeley Community Coalition.

This presentation provides an overview of some of the elements of the ARRA. The presentation begins by showing the total allocation of funds within the ARRA. It then details allocations in specific areas of concern to social justice community organizations, such as health care, housing, and education. Within each one of these funding areas, incredible amount of detail exists and is being released every day. In order to demonstrate how the ARRA translates into local level funds, this presentation focuses in on one federal agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It then specifically narrows to look at funding level for some of HUD’s ARRA programs in the state of California, city of Berkeley, and county of Alameda.

It is important to realize that every day new details and new grant applications are made public by the various agencies of the federal government. This information is being released at recovery specific webpages of federal agencies, at www.recovery.gov, and at www.grants.gov. If your organization is interested in seeking funding from the ARRA, check the websites listed at the end of the BOSS presentation linked below for further information.

Obviously, in the long run, the ARRA is only a stop-gap measure to avert the type of disaster and poverty that was experienced during the Great Depression. A more fundamental reassessment of the structure, processes, and ecological dynamics of our economy and of global capitalism than what is present in ARRA is needed in the long run. It will be necessary for us to continue and indeed increase our organizing efforts for a more just, sane, ecological, and humane world.

Click HERE for BOSS PowerPoint on ARRA and Alameda County.
Click HERE for ARRA and WRAP Cities spreadsheet.
Click HERE for US Mayors ARRA spending summary spreadsheet.