Drafter
Clerk 04/23/2009
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to oversight of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds; ensuring public transparency and accountability for funds managed by county government.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. On February 17 2009, the President of the United States signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA") providing $787.2 billion in an economic stimulus package, which includes some new federal aid for local government. ARRA is the largest single infusion of spending ($575.3 billion) and tax cuts ($211.9 billion) made by Congress into the United States economy in American history.
2. Congress and the President intend ARRA to stimulate economic growth and create jobs by providing funding for more than seventy-five federal programs, many of which will also benefit local governments. In some cases local government funding has been provided by direct federal appropriation or through already established formulas or procedures; and in other cases federal agencies will host a grant competition in the near future for local governments seeking to obtain additional stimulus dollars.
3. According to congressional and administration projections, ARRA will create or preserve approximately seventy-five thousand jobs in Washington state over the next two years. Based on this projection and King County's current working age population, the stimulus funding could create or preserve approximately twenty-three thousand jobs countywide, if state pass-through funds are allocated as expected and local jurisdictions and agencies are successful in applying for and receiving state and federal grants associated with ARRA.
4. ARRA includes provisions to promote the public's ability to monitor spending and accomplishments for the funded programs. The federal executive branch has launched www.recovery.gov as its official website to track spending and offer transparency for the ARRA programs; and the United States Vice President will o...
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