Federal Spending Spree Is Set To Begin With President Obama’s signature on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, federal agencies will now begin scrambling to spend an additional $311 billion over the next two years, according to congressional estimates. As he signed the bill in Denver on Feb. 17, the president called it “the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history...a balanced plan with a mix of tax cuts and investments.” Although the final spending total is less than the House originally approved, the package contains something for almost everybody: highway and bridge construction and repair, energy improvements in federal buildings and public housing, new military family housing, electronic health records and IT upgrades for such huge agencies as the Social Security Administration and the Transportation Security Administration. The final version of the legislation eliminates or waters down several restrictions on procurement that were opposed by most business groups. The House-Senate conference dropped a requirement that all contractors receiving stimulus funds would have to use the E-Verify system to confirm the immigration status of their employees. The Obama administration is still reviewing the proposal that would require all federal contractors to use E-Verify. Conferees watered down a Buy American provision requiring the use of U.S.-made iron, steel and manufactured goods on all stimulus projects. The final version of Section 1605 includes a number of exceptions and waivers of the Buy American restriction. Conferees also softened language requiring full and open competition for all stimulus contracts. Some small business advocates said that provision could prohibit set-aside contracts. The final version says “competitive procedures” and fixed-price contracts must be used “to the maximum extent possible.” As part of the emphasis on openness and transparency in spending the money, the Obama administration said it will establish a website, Recovery.gov, that will track each expenditure. In addition, the White House has ordered each agency to appoint a senior-level official to coordinate all stimulus-related programs, Government Executive magazine reported. Many of the contract opportunities created by the act, such as those for road building projects, will be awarded at the state and local level. Here is a summary of major spending: Defense $4.6 billion for Army Corps of Engineers projects $3.8 billion for restoration and modernization of facilities at DOD installations $1.3 billion for Defense hospital construction $890 million for military family housing $300 million for R&D of renewable energy generation $240 million for new child development centers $100 million for Army “warrior transition complexes” $80 million for Navy and Marine Corps child development centers $100 million for Navy and Marine Corps energy conservation and alternative energy projects $80 million for Air Force child development centers $100 million for National Guard construction Veterans Administration $200 million for improvements to VA benefits administration, IT and claims processing $1 billion for renovations and energy efficiency improvements to veterans medical facilities Transportation $29 billion in grants for highway improvements $1.1 billion in grants for airport improvements $8 billion in grants for capital investments in designated high-speed rail corridors $8.4 billion for public transit improvements and infrastructure investments Housing $4 billion for repairs and modernization of public housing projects $2.25 billion for energy-efficiency retrofitting of low-income housing, including new insulation, windows and furnaces $2.25 billion for building and rehabilitating low-income housing using green technology $1 billion in grants for community and economic development projects $510 million in grants to rehabilitate and improve energy efficiency in Native American housing programs Homeland Security $200 million for departmental site security, IT infrastructure, furniture, fixtures and other costs for the new departmental headquarters in Washington $420 million for construction, repairs and equipment at ports of entry $98 million for Coast Guard acquisitions and construction $142 million for repairing and removing bridges hazardous to marine navigation GSA $5.5 billion for construction, repair and energy alterations to federal buildings and facilities $300 million for purchase of fuel efficient vehicles for federal fleet Acting GSA Administrator Paul Prouty told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the agency has already identified projects that can start quickly “getting shovels in the ground.” He said GSA will also hire contractors to support its personnel in such areas as contract management, design services and project management. Federal lands and national parks $735 million for National Park Service deferred maintenance $280 million for wildlife refuge and fish hatchery construction, deferred maintenance, road maintenance and energy-efficient visitors centers $490 million for repair of schools, detention centers, roads, bridges, housing, irrigation and dams on Indian reservations $180 million for road, bridge and trail repairs $125 million for deferred maintenance on federal lands $650 million for renovation of forest roads, bridges and trails, remediation of abandoned mines, removal of barriers to fish and other critical habitat Interior, EPA and other environmental programs $6.4 billion to upgrade wastewater treatment systems and drinking water infrastructure $4.1 billion for flood control and water management construction, regulation and investigations $1.2 billion for EPA environmental cleanup programs, including Superfund $375 million for Mississippi River and tributary construction $1 billion for water reclamation and reuse projects $347 million for Indian Health Facilities construction, maintenance and equipment $85 million for Indian Health Services IT development and deployment Energy $5 billion for home weatherization grants to low and middle-income families $2 billion for advanced batteries manufacturing grants $6.3 billion for energy efficiency grants to states and local governments $2.5 billion for R&D of renewable and efficient energy technology $483 million for cleanup of former nuclear sites $5.1 billion for cleanup of former defense nuclear sites $4.4 billion for modernization of the electric grid Health $19 billion to accelerate adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT) systems by doctors and hospitals $2 billion for renovation and health IT purchases for community health centers $500 million for National Institutes of Health facilities repairs and renovations $50 million to improve IT security at the Department of Health and Human Services Education $650 million for school computer and science laboratories and technology training for teachers. $250 million in grants for states to create systems tracking individual student data In addition, states can spend a portion of the $53.6 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund for school construction and modernization, but the bulk of that money is expected to be used to prevent teacher layoffs. Social Security Administration $500 million for construction of a new National Computer Center Agriculture $176 million for repairs and security improvements at Agricultural Research Service $290 million for watershed and flood prevention projects$290 $50 million for watershed rehabilitation $130 million in guaranteed loans for rural community facilities $1.4 billion in grants for rural waste and waste disposal facilities $2.5 billion in broadband grants to rural communities Commerce $4.35 billion in grants to provide wireless and broadband infrastructure to communities, including public computer centers and sustainable adoption of broadband service $360 million for construction and maintenance at the National Institute of Standards and Technology $230 million for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facilities and research National Science Foundation $400 million for new research equipment and facilities