Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
Mr. OBEY, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported the following bill; which was committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled
This Act may be cited as the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
The following sums in this Act are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
The President and the heads of Federal departments and agencies shall manage and expend the funds made available in this Act so as to achieve the purposes specified in subsection (a), including commencing expenditures and activities as quickly as possible consistent with prudent management.
In using funds made available in this Act for infrastructure investment, recipients shall give preference to activities that can be started and completed expeditiously, including a goal of using at least 50 percent of the funds for activities that can be initiated not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Recipients shall also use grant funds in a manner that maximizes job creation and economic benefit.
Formula grants using funds made available in this Act shall be awarded not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act (or, in the case of appropriations not available upon enactment, not later than 30 days after the appropriation becomes available for obligation), unless expressly provided otherwise in this Act.
Competitive grants using funds made available in this Act shall be awarded not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act (or, in the case of appropriations not available upon enactment, not later than 90 days after the appropriation becomes available for obligation), unless expressly provided otherwise in this Act.
The time limits specified in subsections (a) and (b) may each be extended by up to 30 days in the case of grants for which funding was not provided in fiscal year 2008.
Each recipient of a grant made using amounts made available in this Act in any account listed in subsection (c) shall enter into contracts or other binding commitments not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act (or not later than 9 months after the grant is awarded, if later) to make use of 50 percent of the funds awarded, and shall enter into contracts or other binding commitments not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act (or not later than 21 months after the grant is awarded, if later) to make use of the remaining funds. In the case of activities to be carried out directly by a grant recipient (rather than by contracts, subgrants, or other arrangements with third parties), a certification by the recipient specifying the amounts, planned timing, and purpose of such expenditures shall be deemed a binding commitment for purposes of this section.
The head of the Federal department or agency involved shall recover or deobligate any grant funds not committed in accordance with subsection (a), and redistribute such funds to other recipients eligible under the grant program and able to make use of such funds in a timely manner (including binding commitments within 120 days after the reallocation).
This section shall apply to grants made using amounts appropriated in any of the following accounts within this Act:
All funds appropriated in this Act shall remain available for obligation until September 30, 2010, unless expressly provided otherwise in this Act.
Amounts that are not needed or cannot be used for the activity for which originally obligated may be deobligated and, notwithstanding the limitation on availability specified in subsection (a), reobligated for other activities that have received funding from the same account or appropriation in this Act.
Unless other provision is made in this Act (or in other applicable law) for such expenses, up to 0.5 percent of each amount appropriated in this Act may be used for the expenses of management and oversight of the programs, grants, and activities funded by such appropriation, and may be transferred by the head of the Federal department or agency involved to any other appropriate account within the department or agency for that purpose. Funds set aside under this section shall remain available for obligation until September 30, 2012.
In addition to funds otherwise made available in this Act, there are hereby appropriated the following sums to the specified Offices of Inspector General, to remain available until September 30, 2013, for oversight and audit of programs, grants, and projects funded under this Act:
There is hereby appropriated as an additional amount for “Government Accountability Office—Salaries and Expenses” $25,000,000, for oversight activities relating to this Act.
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool.
Each amount appropriated or made available in this Act is in addition to amounts otherwise appropriated for the fiscal year involved. Enactment of this Act shall have no effect on the availability of amounts under the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2009 (division A of Public Law 110-329).
Each amount in this Act is designated as an emergency requirement and necessary to meet emergency needs pursuant to section 204(a) of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress) and section 301(b)(2) of S. Con. Res. 70 (110th Congress), the concurrent resolutions on the budget for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
Each Federal agency shall publish on the website Recovery.gov (as established under section 1226 of this subtitle)—
With respect to funds made available under this Act for infrastructure investments to Federal, State, or local government agencies, the following requirements apply:
With respect to funds made available under this Act in the form of grants for operational purposes to State or local government agencies or other organizations, the agency or organization shall publish on the website Recovery.gov a description of the intended use of the funds, including the number of jobs sustained or created.
Each contract awarded or grant issued using funds made available in this Act shall be posted on the Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov. Proprietary data that is required to be kept confidential under applicable Federal or State law or regulation shall be redacted before posting.
Any inspector general of a Federal department or executive agency shall review, as appropriate, any concerns raised by the public about specific investments using funds made available in this Act. Any findings of an inspector general resulting from such a review shall be relayed immediately to the head of each department and agency. In addition, the findings of such reviews, along with any audits conducted by any inspector general of funds made available in this Act, shall be posted 16 on the Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov.
The Inspector General of the agency concerned may examine any records related to obligations of funds made available in this Act.
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct bimonthly reviews and prepare reports on such reviews on the use by selected States and localities of funds made available in this Act.
Such reports, along with any audits conducted by the Comptroller General of such funds, shall be posted on the Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov.
The Comptroller General may examine any records related to obligations of funds made available in this Act. SEC. 1204.
The Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit quarterly reports to Congress detailing the estimated impact of programs under this Act on employment, economic growth, and other key economic indicators.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall apply to contracts awarded with funds made available in this Act. To the maximum extent possible, such contracts shall be awarded as fixed-price contracts through the use of competitive procedures. Existing contracts so awarded may be utilized in order to obligate such funds expeditiously. Any contract awarded with such funds that is not fixed-price and not awarded using competitive procedures shall be posted in a special section of the website Recovery.gov.
There is established a board to be known as the “Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board” (hereafter in this subtitle referred to as the “Board”) to coordinate and conduct oversight of Federal spending under this Act to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Board shall be composed of seven members as follows:
Each member of the Board shall serve for a term to be determined by the President.
The Board shall coordinate and conduct oversight of spending under this Act to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. In addition to responsibilities setforth in this subtitle, the responsibilities of the Board shall include the following:
The Board shall submit to Congress reports, to be known as “flash reports”, on potential management and funding problems that require immediate attention. The Board also shall submit to Congress such other reports as the Board considers appropriate on the use and benefits of funds made available in this Act.
The Board shall submit to the President and Congress quarterly reports summarizing its findings and the findings of agency inspectors general and may issue additional reports as appropriate.
On an annual basis, the Board shall prepare a consolidated report on the use of funds under this Act. All reports shall be publicly available and shall be posted on the Internet website Recovery.gov, except that portions of reports may be redacted if the portions would disclose information that is protected from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (popularly known as the Freedom of Information Act).
The Board shall make recommendations to Federal agencies on measures to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. A Federal agency shall, within 30 days after receipt of any such recommendation, submit to the Board, the President, and the congressional committees of jurisdiction a report on whether the agency agrees or disagrees with the recommendations and what steps, if any, the agency plans to take to implement the recommendations.
The Chairman of the Board may appoint and fix the compensation of an executive director and other personnel as may be required to carry out the functions of the Board. The Director shall be paid at the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule.
Upon request of the Board, the head of any Federal department or agency may detail any Federal official or employee, including officials and employees of offices of inspector general, to the Board without reimbursement from the Board, and such detailed staff shall retain the rights, status, and privileges of his or her regular employment without interruption.
Office space shall be provided 13 to the Board within the Executive Office of the President.
The Board shall establish and maintain a website on the Internet to be named Recovery.gov, to foster greater accountability and transparency in the use of funds made available in this Act.
Recovery.gov shall be a portal or gateway to key information related to this Act and provide a window to other Government websites with related information.
In establishing the website Recovery.gov, the Board shall ensure the following:
Inspectors general shall retain independent authority to determine whether to conduct an audit or investigation of spending under this Act. If the Board requests that an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or investigation and the inspector general rejects the request in whole or in part, the inspector general shall, within 30 days after receipt of the request, submit to the Board, the agency head, and the congressional committees of jurisdiction a report explaining why the inspector general has rejected the request in whole or in part.
The Board shall coordinate its oversight activities with the Comptroller General of the United States and State auditor generals.
There is established a panel to be known as the “Independent Advisory Panel” to advise the Board.
The Panel shall be composed of five members appointed by the President from among individuals with expertise in economics, public finance, contracting, accounting, or other relevant fields.
The Panel shall make recommendations to the Board on actions the Board could take to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending under this Act.
Each member of the Panel shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
There is hereby appropriated to the Board 16 $14,000,000 to carry out this subtitle.
The Board shall terminate 12 months after 90 percent of the funds made available under this Act have been expended, as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.