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
Friday, June 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
IRS Help on ARRA Bonds
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
ARRA Status Report - April, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Census Bureau and ARRA?
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?
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?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Question: Which Rules to Follow?
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Reporting Period
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.)
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 . . .
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.
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