About the ARRA
Updates and Announcements
National Current Developments
Publications
Resources
Thanks to the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Federal government is helping states recover from the recession. While the majority of the funds will flow through existing state programs and formulas, there are also billions in competitive grant dollars. Virginia's Community Colleges, Office of Workforce Development Services will be receiving ARRA funds for job creation, job training and job placement services for Virginians. The majority of these funds will go to Local Workforce Investment Boards to develop programs to meet local needs. Visit this Web site in the near future to learn more about these programs as Federal guidance is developed.
White Houses Releases Report that Says Recovery Act Has Created 650,000 Jobs So Far
The White House released a report today that states that the Recovery Act has created or saved at least 650,000 jobs. The report is based on approximately $150 billion in spending from the $787 billion recovery package. The numbers are drawn from the reports from state and local recipients and include as many as 30,000 jobs from private companies.
The Obama administration is expected to announce further details about jobs on Friday afternoon, after the government posts complete reports online on Recovery Act Website--www.recovery.gov
State WIA/Wagner-Peyser State Plan Modifications on Recovery Act Implementation Now Available
The Employment and Training Administration has established a menu of links to the Workforce Investment Act / Wagner-Peyser State Plan Modifications (2009) on Recovery Act Implementation.
The links are available here.
Competition on Identifying the Best “Job Aggregators” Announced
At an ETA meeting today of national organizations and federal agencies, Jane Oates, ETA Assistant Secretary announced that DOL is planning to hold a competition on identifying the best “job aggregators” as part of an effort to provide workers innovative tools to understand and access the job market. The competition will run for two weeks later this year and be open to anyone with a good idea. An open system of rating will select the most innovative and useful tools. The announcement was short on details, but more information will be available soon.
Next Continuing Resolution to Last Into December
House and Senate leaders this week agreed to another Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund government operations through December 18. The CR was attached to the conference-report on the Interior-Environment appropriations bill. The current CR was set to expire at the end of this week. With Congress having completed work on only four appropriations bills thus far, the CR was necessary to allow the House and Senate time to address additional appropriations measures. The new CR includes a technical change to Highway Trust Fund expenditure authority that would continue contract authority for highway, transit and safety programs at the post-rescission FY 2009 levels through December 18.
UI Extension Still Pending in Senate
Senate leaders remained at an impasse this week over adding tax provisions to a bill that would extend unemployment insurance benefits to millions of jobless workers. Another procedural vote is now scheduled for Monday night, and if passed, then the bill could be voted on by the full Senate.
The Senate version of the measure would provide 14 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to individuals in all 50 states and an additional 6 weeks of benefits for individuals in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent, based on a three-month average. The bill passed in the House (HR 3548) on September 22 provides 13 weeks of benefits to individuals living in states with 8.5 percent unemployment or higher.
Certain Fields Boost Community College Graduates’ Earnings
A new report from the Economic Mobility Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts finds that high school graduates with lower grades who attended community colleges can earn more than their peers who had higher high school grades simply by pursuing “high-return” fields of study, which include business, computer science, engineering and health care. Although a community college education boosts post-college earnings for all students, those who choose “low-return” fields such as humanities or the fine arts typically earn less on average.
The report, “Strengthening Community Colleges’ Influence on Economic Mobility”, offers a number of recommendations to states around increasing the numbers of community college graduates in high-return and economically competitive fields of study, including:
• Improve the academic preparedness of students to increase participation in high-return fields of study;
• Invest additional resources to boost capacity in these programs;
• Provide career counseling and assessment to ensure students know the available options; and
• Increase financial aid available to students to support their transfer into four-year colleges.
Over half of low-income, high-achieving high school students transfer from a community college to a four-year college, further increasing their earning potential and economic mobility.
Early report: Job gains signal stimulus impact
USA Today
States have reported using stimulus money to create or save more than 388,000 jobs so far this year, buttressing the Obama administration's claim that the $787 billion plan has had a significant impact on the economy.
Stimulus Watch: Stimulus jobs overstated in report
The Washington Post
The White House is promising that new figures being released Friday will be a more accurate showing of progress in President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan. It aggressively defended an earlier, faulty count that overstated by thousands the jobs created or saved so far.
Stimulus Fueled Much of Expansion
The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. economy would have turned in a far worse performance in the third quarter without help from the federal government. Now the question is whether growth can continue without that support.
Report: States set low bar for student achievement
AP
Many states declare students to have grade-level mastery of reading and math when they do not, the Education Department reported Thursday.
Recovery.gov
ARRA presentation
ARRA legislation