OVERVIEW

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. It is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century.

The Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression, and includes measures to modernize our nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need. In [particular, the Act is aimed at:

• Saving and creating more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years;
• Taking a big step toward computerizing Americans’ health records, reducing medical errors, and saving billions in health care costs;
• Reviving the renewable energy industry and provide the capital over the next three years to eventually double domestic renewable energy capacity;
• Undertaking the largest weatherization program in history by modernizing 75 percent of federal building space and more than one million homes;
• Increasing college affordability for seven million students by funding the shortfall in Pell Grants, increasing the maximum award level by $500, and providing a new higher education tax cut to nearly four million students;
• Enacting the largest increase in funding for our nation’s roads, bridges, and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s;
• Providing an $800 Making Work Pay tax credit for 129 million working households, and cut taxes for the families of millions of children through an expansion of the Child Tax Credit;
• Requiring unprecedented levels of transparency, oversight, and accountability.

View the full Recovery Act Bill