Department of Defense (DoD) released its EXPENDITURE PLAN for the projects to be funded with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Recovery Act provides $7.4 billion to the Department largely for projects that are located at Defense installations spread across all fifty states, District of Columbia and two U.S. territories. The report includes $2.3 billion in construction projects, including two major hospital construction projects: Camp Pendleton, California; Fort Hood, Texas; and a hospital alteration project at the Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida. The plan also contains $3.4 billion for nearly 3,000 facility repair and improvement projects that will immediately generate additional employment in communities around Defense installations. Furthermore, the plan details how $300 million for near-term energy technology research will be allocated. The allocation of the remaining $800 million for Defense facility infrastructure investment be announced at a later date.

 

As one of the most contractor-dependent agencies in the Federal government, the Department of Energy requires a stable, experienced, and well-trained acquisition workforce if its programs are to be effectively and efficiently managed. The need for an appropriately sized acquisition workforce has been heightened by the unprecedented additional funding provided to the Department under the Recovery Act. The report describes the current status of the Department's acquisition workforce, positive actions that have already been taken, and the challenges that remain. More...

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $1.2 billion in new science funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for major construction, laboratory infrastructure, and research efforts sponsored across the nation by the DOE Office of Science. Secretary Chu made the announcement during a visit to the Brookhaven National Laboratory. For more information, the entire press release can be read on the DoE website.

 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $750 million for a program of competitive grants for worker training and placement in high growth and emerging industry sectors. Of that amount, $500 million is targeted for research, labor exchange, and job training projects that prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy as defined in the Green Jobs Act: energy efficient building, construction, and retrofitting; renewable electric power; energy efficient and advanced drive train vehicles; biofuels; deconstruction and materials use; energy efficiency assessment for residential, commercial, or industrial sector, and manufacturing of sustainable products using sustainable processes.

The remaining $250 million will be for projects in other high growth and emerging industry sectors with a priority for projects that prepare workers for careers in the health care sector and projects that are tied to industry sectors where jobs are being created as a result of Recovery Act investments such as infrastructure investments. In order to maximize the impact of these competitive grants and leverage the other investments in the Recovery Act, the Department of Labor (DOL) is collaborating with other Federal agencies and developing a multi-pronged investment approach with these funds.

DOL plans to issue Solicitations for Grant Awards (SGA) no later than June 30, 2009. The SGA will provide specific requirements for use of the funds, certification, data reporting, performance measures, and other necessary information. DOL will be publishing the grant opportunities on Grants.gov. Information on grant opportunities will also be available on DOL’s Recovery Web site: http://www.dol.gov/recovery/.

More information is available at http://www.dol.gov/recovery/implement.htm.

On April 3, 2009, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act"). This is the second installment of detailed government-wide guidance for carrying out programs and activities enacted in the Recovery Act. This updated guidance supplements, amends and clarifies the initial guidance issued by OMB on February 18, 2009 (Initial Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, M-09-10). Updates to the guidance are based on ongoing input received from the public, Congress, state and local government officials, grant and contract recipients and federal personnel.

Read the April 3 detailed guidance memorandum.

OMB Guidance on Economic Recovery fund

February 21, 2009

The Office of Management and Budget on February 18 issued initial implementation guidance to the federal agencies on spending the economic recovery funds - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-10.pdf 

As we have reported in previous messages, NIH and NSF have issued general statements about their plans to use the funds they will receive under the Economic Recovery Act.  However, all of the agencies’ plans will need to be reviewed and approved by OMB.  

Among provisions of interest in the OMB document are those relating to the allocation of grants and cooperative agreements and the extensive new reporting requirements for entities that accept Recovery Act funds.  As stated at the COGR meeting today (February 20) we will work with OMB and agency officials to minimize reporting burdens as much as possible, given the requirements of the Act.

Guidance on Grants and Cooperative Agreements
Page 32 of the OMB guidance addresses grants and cooperative agreements, noting that although the Recovery Act calls on agencies to spend the funding as quickly as possible, “this statement, by itself, does not constitute a sufficient justification to support award of a federal grant on a non-competitive basis.” 

Agencies are expected “to follow the same laws, principles, procedures, and practices in awarding discretionary grants with Recovery Act funds as they do with other funds,” and to promote competition “to the maximum extent practicable.” It adds, “Agencies may want to consider the appropriateness of limited competitions among existing high-performing projects versus full and open competitions and formula allocations.”

Guidance on Significant New Reporting Requirements
Beginning on page 14, OMB describes the detailed reporting requirements for recipients of economic recovery funds.    

"As required by Section 1512 of the Recovery Act and this guidance, each recipient, as described above, is required to report the following information to the Federal agency providing the award 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, starting on July 10th.

These reports will include the following data elements, as prescribed by the Recovery Act:

1. The total amount of recovery funds received from that agency;
2. The amount of recovery funds received that were obligated and expended to projects or activities.  This reporting will also included unobligated Allotment balances to facilitate reconciliations.
3. A detailed list of all projects or activities for which recovery funds were obligated and expended, including
   1. The name of the project or activity;
   2.  A description of the project or activity;
   3. An evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity;
   4. An estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained by the project or activity; and
   5.  For infrastructure investments made by State and local governments, the purpose, total cost, and rationale of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment with funds made available under this Act, and name of the person to contact at the agency if there are concerns with the infrastructure investment.
4. Detailed information on any subcontracts or subgrants awarded by the recipient to include the data elements required to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-282), allowing aggregate reporting on awards below $25,000 or to individuals, as prescribed by the Director of OMB.  

The final guidance issued by OMB for the Recovery Act will lay out in more detail specific reporting instructions and how the data collection for this reporting will work government-wide"