ARRA HELP

Good Bye

2010-06-11T16:46:00.000-05:00

ARRA is far enough along that I see no use for this blog anymore, so I do not anticipate posting any more to it.

You might like to see my continuing blog, http://sillygovernment.blogspot.com, in which I post almost daily reports of silly laws, rules, and regulations of our government. I only hope that ARRA never fits into that category.

Thank you for reading.

Mark

IRS Help on ARRA Bonds

2010-05-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

The IRS has released guidance on ARRA bond provisions, especially Build America Bonds and Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds.

Among other information, this page details Davis-Bacon requirements for certain bonds. There have been questions about this, so here's the bulk of what the IRS has to say on this page:

"Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Division B, section 1601, Davis-Bacon labor standards must be applied to projects financed with the proceeds of the following tax-favored bonds:

1. Any new clean renewable energy bond (as defined in section 54C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) issued after February 17, 2009,
2. Any qualified energy conservation bond (as defined in section 54D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) issued after February 17, 2009,
3. Any qualified zone academy bond (as defined in section 54E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) issued after February 17, 2009,
4. Any qualified school construction bond (as defined in section 54F of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), and
5. Any recovery zone economic development bond (as defined in section 1400U–2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).

The Davis-Bacon contract clauses stated in 29 CFR 5.5(a)(1) through (10) must be incorporated into covered contracts for construction, alteration, or repair work.

ARRA Status Report - April, 2010

2010-04-21T12:25:00.000-05:00

The President's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) has been tasked with reporting to Congress on a quarterly basis on the effects of the Recovery Act. The report details spending up to the end of the 1st quarter of calendar 2010, as well as job estimates and analysis of trends.

Through the first quarter of 2010, the CEA estimates that ARRA is responsible for 2.2 - 2.8 million jobs. Roughly half of these jobs are due to tax cuts and income supports. But . . .keep in mind the proviso listed by the CEA: "Identifying the impact of policy actions is inherently difficult, and the estimates must be understood to be subject to large margins of error." This certainly sounds more professional than "This is our best guess," although the meaning is eerily similar.

Census Bureau and ARRA?

2010-04-19T09:33:00.000-05:00

The link above is to a press release last year about the Census Bureau's meeting of a July 1, 2009 deadline to hire 2200 people with ARRA funds. The Census Bureau received a billion dollars from ARRA.

My question is this: Does "Buy American" ring any bells? I personally saw some Census 2010 merchandise, given away as freebies by Census workers, that appears to be problematic. The baseball cap was made in China, and the T-shirt was made in Thailand. I realize that "Buy American" has huge exceptions, but shouldn't the federal government make an extra effort to comply with ARRA's buy American provisions?

Question: Which Rules to Follow?

2010-04-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

Question: We want to make a purchase that we have been told is improper under state law, but no federal law or rule specifically addresses this. Since it is ARRA money, can we do it under the federal rules?

Answer: No. The federal rules basically say that you have to comply with state law unless there is a conflict with federal law. The lack of any federal rule is not a conflict, and the ARRA Police will take a dim view of violating state law with ARRA funds.

Reporting Period

2010-03-31T14:43:00.000-05:00

Back on a serious note again, the next reporting period starts tomorrow! It runs April 1-10, with a recipient review period of April 11-12. I don't know how many prime recipients had planned on reviewing their reports on Sunday the 11th, but it is available. Here is the reporting timeline, from recovery.gov:

April 1 - 10 Recipients Report
April 11 - 12 Recipient Review (Prime recipients and sub-recipients can make changes to their reports).
April 13 - 29 Agency Review (Agencies comment on reports and recipients continue to make corrections.)
April 30 Recipient Data is published on Recovery.gov
May 3 - June 14 Continuous Quality Assurance (Agencies continue to review and comment on recipients' reports. Recipients make corrections.)

And Now for an Opposing Viewpoint . . .

2010-03-31T14:38:00.000-05:00

Here is a "report" entitled "Recovery.gov – A Monument to Silly Wasteful Stupid Government Spending." Just in case someone thought that everyone was behind the stimulus package.

Are You Sure About that Last Post?

2010-03-25T11:02:00.000-05:00

Let's assume for the sake of argument that a housing authority is not subject to any state review. Even if you win, fighting a review of your spending by an outside entity sends up a MASSIVE red flag. Earl Devaney says the RAT Board is looking for fraud, waste and abuse, right? Fighting to keep what you do secret is not a good way to pass under the radar.

Remember the kid in grammar school who, whether what he did was good or bad, always seemed to scream, "Look at me! Look at me!" Someone in authority eventually looked, and he got the attention he so badly craved. Do you see the correlation?

Does the State Auditor in Mississippi have the authority to audit Housing Authorities?

2010-03-23T11:10:00.000-05:00

Section 7-7-81 of the Mississippi Code states:

"(1) The State Auditor shall have the authority to preaudit or postaudit, conduct performance audits and reviews, investigate projects, entities and their use of any funds provided to the state or any of its agencies or subdivision, or any nonprofit organization, from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and its successors. . . . The State Auditor shall have the authority to recover costs associated with auditing and investigating such projects and funds within the limits of federal law from any such entity that receives such funds."

Apparently, the state legislature intended for it to be so, if the money was received pursuant to ARRA. Housing authorities are entities that are not normally subject to the authority of the State Auditor, but why would they not be willing for someone to ensure that the money is actually being used for the poor people they are trying to help? As Shakespeare said, "methinks they protest too much."

Homeland Security

2010-03-17T16:24:00.000-05:00

ARRA is paying for a lot of things these days, but were you aware that the Department of Homeland Security got a nice chunk of the recovery funds? Yes, they received more than $3 Billion in stimulus money.

DHS says about the funds, "Projects supported by these funds will not only make the country safer and more secure, but they also will create new jobs, and in some cases, save the jobs of men and women who do the work of staying ahead of those who would seek to do us harm."

Here's where some of the money went or is going:

Transportation Security Administration:
•$1 billion for explosives detection systems and checkpoint screening equipment

St. Elizabeths/DHS Headquarters Consolidation:
•$650 million ($200 million to DHS; $450 million to GSA)

DHS Office of Inspector General:
•$5 million to conduct related oversight and audits

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP):
•$100 million for border technology on the southwest border
•$60 million for tactical communications equipment and radios

Is this where the money should go to stimulate the economy? I'm just asking . . .

Stimulus for Post Office?

2010-03-12T15:49:00.000-06:00

I received a letter addressed to "resident" from the US Census Bureau that basically said "You will receive your Census form next week. Please fill it out and send it in."

Is this the "waste, fraud and abuse" we hear so much about, or is it a sneaky form of stimulus for the Post Office?

Just wondering . . .

RATs on Video!

2010-03-11T15:25:00.000-06:00

The Recovery and Transparency (RAT) Board has a channel on YouTube. If you really want to follow them, you can subscribe or link up on Twitter or Facebook. More RATs than most people want!

Scare Tactics

2010-03-09T14:06:00.000-06:00

No, I'm not talking about the TV show. I'm talking about Earl Devaney's Youtube video. It's an oldie but a goodie.

It runs 3:33, and the scary part for people who handle ARRA money is at about 2:30 or so. The RAT Board chairman starts talking about all the opportunities for anyone, anywhere, to file a complaint if they see something they don't like. Anybody out there please EVERYONE today? Do any governmental entities have people who don't like what they do? Good luck.

Devaney says there is fraud, waste, and abuse out there, and they'll find it. So, in the words immortalized in the show "Hill Street Blues," be careful out there.

Funding Window Opens for Broadband Stimulus

2010-02-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

According to Government Technology, "The second and final funding window for broadband stimulus applications opened Tuesday, Feb. 16. Applicants have until March 15 to complete their submissions, which preparers are working feverishly to align with the latest broadband stimulus eligibility requirements." $7.2 Billion is available for broadband projects, with the money distributed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).

Priority is given by NTIA to partnerships with entites such as hospitals, community colleges and government agencies. But don't send a request to spend a small amount of money for a local project. According to the administrator of NTIA, he won't consider a project of less than $500,000. In fact, talking about a particular statewide project, he said, "It's much more impressive of a project to us than some we've gotten where a single library filed and asked for a $20,000 grant to create a public computer center. That isn't to say they didn't have a meaningful project for their community. [But] it costs us more than $20,000 to even look at that application."

So, only apply if you need a LOT of money for a project. If you still are considering an application, the rules are in a new Notice Of Funds Available (NOFA) for grants from NTIA and another from RUS. NTIA has links to grants guidance here, just under the "What's New" heading. RUS has links here.

Additional Funding for Cities

2010-02-02T09:25:00.000-06:00

I've said before that cities need another round of stimulus money, according to them. According to The Christian Science Monitor, President Obama agrees. Their article on the 2010 budget starts, "In President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal, the nation’s cities are winners."

The budget proposal contains another $100 Billion in economic stimulus money, much of which should go to cities. Low income projects reap the benefits of several of these proposals, including increased Medicaid funding, additional funding for low-income housing, and extension of unemployment benefits.

Subsidies for the Build America Bonds program are projected to continue, which should help with capital improvements in cities. The new proposal makes these subsidies permanent. Will this help Jackson with their water and sewer improvements? Maybe; we'll wait and see. Above all, remember that this is the President's PROPOSED budget. No fortune teller can accurately predict what will actually be squeezed from the budget process in Congress.

Mayors Want New Round of Stimulus Funding

2010-01-22T10:15:00.000-06:00

According to the New York Times, the United States Conference of Mayors said that they need another round of stimulus funding. There have been layoffs and shortfalls, and job creation is a high priority in urban areas.

According to a June, 2009 study conducted by the conference, 48 percent of approved surface-transportation financing was allocated to metropolitan areas by the states. These areas represent 63 percent of the population and 73 percent of the states' gross domestic product. Of course, statistics can be used selectively to say pretty much whatever you want. What is a logical measurement for allocating surface-transportation dollars? Population? GDP? Road mileage? The cities make a good argument, and the need is there (see my last post, "Where's the Beef?"), but I'm not so sure that population and gdp are the best measurement for distribution of transportation dollars.

Saying that the cities need another infusion of stimulus dollars, Mayor Riley of Charleston, South Carolina said “In the Great Depression they let up too soon and there was further recession. Right now the president needs to avoid making that same mistake.”

Maybe so.

Where's the Beef?

2010-01-20T09:53:00.000-06:00

Anybody remember the Wendy's commercial that had the little old lady (Clara Peller) look at a tiny hamburger on a "big fluffy bun," then holler "Where's the Beef?" Now we need to look at "Where's the Stimulus?"

The City of Jackson, Mississippi, spent the first part of 2010 in the deepest, coldest freeze since 1940. Anybody care to guess what that exposed? It showed us some $300 Million in repairs to the water and sewer system that need to be addressed. Approximately 150 breaks developed in the water mains across the city, and the city was without drinkable water or enough water pressure for toilets and building sprinklers for a week. Much of the city, including hotels, restaurants, and any building with a sprinkler system, was shut down for a week.

What broke? Pipes that are as much as a hundred years old or more, including cast iron pipes, did not stand up to the icy weather. City crews, along with crews from neighboring communities and state crews, worked night and day to dig up pipes, patch them, and close up the holes. Some streets in Jackson now appear to have been bombed out, because there was no time to pave over the patchwork.

Now, what does this have to do with ARRA? It brings up questions about where the money went or is going. In my opinion, this is the sort of project that ARRA should be funding. Cities around the country have old infrastructure, like Jackson's pipes, that they cannot afford to replace. There's no glamour or flash in replacing a sewer pipe; building things that are buried underground does not leave something a politician can show off as something he or she did. This is where a major need lies, but it is unlikely that Congress will spend more money on a new round of ARRA projects when this money runs out. ARRA may stimulate the economy, but we will still be left with gaping needs that have been unaddressed.

New FAQs from OMB

2010-01-08T09:49:00.000-06:00

OMB has some new information on their FAQ as of January 7, under clarification of the December 18, 2009 guidance. Here is basically what the clarification says:

1. What information are prime recipients and subrecipients with delegated reporting responsibility required to report for vendor payments?
"A: All vendor payments must be reported. Individual payments greater than $25,000 must be reported separately with the following data elements for each payment:

◦Vendor identity either through DUNS number OR the Vendor Name and the zip + 4 digit code of the vendor’s headquarters.
◦Payment description and payment amount (required to be reported by prime recipients; optional for subrecipients)"

This one goes on to talk about reporting in the aggreagate or individually.

The other questions all deal with reporting, the $25,000 threshhold, and multiple quarters. If you need to know this, check it out. If something still does not make sense, let me know, and I'll see if I can't get an answer for you.

Second Quarterly Reporting Period Opens

2010-01-04T15:51:00.000-06:00

The 2nd quarterly reporting period for ARRA funds opened January 1, 2010. All reports are due by January 10. Sort of.

Actually, ARRA requires the reports to be submitted by the 10th. The problem is that January 1 is a holiday, while January 2, 3, 9, & 10 are weekend days, so the deadline in reality would be the 8th, with only 5 working days in the reporting period. The solution? The reporting website will be available for reporting through January 15, so everyone has a full work week beyond the due date to actually submit the reports.

There is new guidance on reporting jobs that pretty much restates the old calculation method, but agency-specific guidance on job calculation can be found here - http://www.recovery.gov/FAQ/recipient/Pages/AgencyGuidance.aspx .

There are a few enhancements to the reporting. There are hard edits to certain fields, so data has to be corrected before the system allows it. Prior data can be carried forward, so some data fields do not have to be repopulated. Overall, we'll see what happens now.

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T11:19:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year!. I've taken a break over the holidays, but will begin posting again this week with more ARRA-related materials.

Recovery.gov Correcting the Obvious (Mostly)

2009-12-21T10:08:00.000-06:00

The Chairman of the Recovery And Accountability Board (RAT Board), Earl Devaney, said in his December 15 message that transparency and accountability for stimulus money has been less than desired. The accuracy of the data provided has had some flaws as well. They are implementing some fixes that will cause some people to react with a "duh."

Under "Improving data quality," the Chairman addresses the problem of a twenty-day window in which data can be corrected. Federalreporting.gov will be changed to allow corrections to data submitted on a continuing basis (starting January 30), with updates posted every two weeks. Let's see now, who thought they would get accurate data by shutting down corrections after 20 days in the first place? If that was a threat, designed to make recipients do it right the first time, I believe the powers that be overestimated some of their recipients. Maybe this will help.

Second, the system will be changed so that it checks zip codes against a database of Congressional districts. Did you realize that reporting entities had to show which Congressional districts received the money? I've never understood why the reporters had to do that. Why doesn't the system simply determine the district, rather than requiring it as input? Since the same system will be checking the input against their database, it would be simpler to just have the system make that determination and, duh, make the reporting simpler.

The system will now have internal logic checks to kick out obviously wrong data. The two examples given are when more stimulus money is reported spent than the entity received, and when projects are reported as completed when the entity has not received any ARRA funding yet. These are obvious checks that should have been built into the system, but were probably not included because of the rapidity with which the system was implemented. Going that fast, you can't think of everything, and sometimes even the obvious slips by when the work has that tight a deadline.

So improvements are on the horizon, and, even though they may seem like obvious flaws in the system, they are being corrected. Maybe it is time for reporters to complain about other quirks in the system that need repair. Any suggestions for improvements?

How ARRA Impacts Health Care IT

2009-12-14T12:43:00.000-06:00

ARRA has provided funding to begin standardizing electronic health records for all Americans. Eventually, if you live in Hot Coffee, Mississippi, and are visiting Scranton, Pennsylvania, where you get sick and must be hospitalized, your medical records will be available to the doctors at your hospital electronically. Your care improves, because duplicate tests can be eliminated, medical errors can be reduced, and your care when you return home can be coordinated with the appropriate doctors. That's the concept.

ARRA authorizes health IT spending as $87.9 billion for Medicaid, $39 billion to extend healthcare coverage to the unemployed, $21 billion in COBRA subsidies, and $22.8 billion to expand and modernize health IT. Another $25.5 billion, more or less, is spread out for other healthcare-related spending.

Sound like Big Brother is watching you? All of your information, available for the picking. Well, Congress has increased privacy laws for personal health information (PHI). There are also civil and criminal penalties for the misuse of PHI. Maybe they can safeguard our information, maybe not. All I can say is that privacy issues held up this sort of information technology reform for years, and the safeguards in the law were apparently sufficient to overcome those concerns in Congress.

You can read more about PHI privacy here.

Question: I received a Pell grant. Do I have to do this ARRA reporting?

2009-12-10T09:19:00.000-06:00

No. The school has to file Section 1512 reports, but you, as the recipient of the grant, do not have to file any special ARRA report on the money, even if ARRA provided the money for your grant.

Question: I received an ARRA grant. Do I have to have a separate bank account for the funds?

2009-12-08T15:19:00.000-06:00

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act does not require these funds to be kept in a separate account. ARRA funds must be segregated, but this can be done through your accounting system. Transactions involving ARRA funds have to be clearly identifiable as such.

Remember that your granting agency, federal or state, may impose additional restrictions on grants beyond those specifically imposed by ARRA. A grantor may require the funds to be kept in a separate bank account, but that is an agency-specific rule, and not generally applicable to all ARRA receipients.

More Stimulus Money Coming?

2009-12-07T10:13:00.000-06:00

A new article in the Washington Post says that the Obama administration will lose $200 Billion less than expected in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds, the funds used to bail out financial institutions. President Obama, according to the article, is expected to ask Congree to use this money for job creation.

According to the Post, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats have been drafting a jobs bill that would tap resources in the bailout program.

Among the proposals being considered are funding as much as $70 billion in new transportation and infrastructure projects, providing new tax credits aimed at encouraging small businesses to hire workers and providing additional aid to state governments to preserve public sector jobs."

This money may not have come in under ARRA, but it sure sounds like stimulus money. Sounds like they want to expand what is being done with ARRA. The next question, IF the money actually materializes, and IF Congress will go along with plans to use it this way, will Congress apply the ARRA rules to this additional money, or will they come up with some different way to regulate it? They should really think long and hard before they set up something new to do the same thing, if they want to use different rules. There is no excuse for repeating the mess that has been made of generating regulations for and reporting on the usage of ARRA funds.