Mar 03 2010
Statement from Vice President Biden on Government Accountability Office’s Report on Recovery Act Implementation
“I’m pleased to hear that the Government Accountability Office has found what we have been hearing from people across the country: overall Recovery Act programs and projects are working effectively to create jobs and drive economic growth. As GAO notes, Recovery Act investments have been critical for preventing massive budget cuts to programs like education and Medicaid, and because we’re delivering on-time – and in many cases under-budget – on Recovery Act projects, we’ve been able to get maximum bang for the employment buck on our infrastructure investments.” “Both public and private forecasters now say the Recovery Act is already responsible for about 2 million jobs, so it’s clear that our work over the last year is delivering results. Because the Recovery Act is an unprecedented program, we are constantly looking for ways to improve its implementation and appreciate some of the new recommendations GAO has made today. As we have with previous reports, we have asked agencies to look at how they can act on the new guidance to sharpen management of the program even further.” “One year in, there is growing consensus that the Recovery Act has worked to pull us back from the brink of economic disaster and lay a foundation for recovery – we’re pleased to hear today that GAO agrees.” FACT SHEET GAO Report Key Findings Payments Will Shift from Rescue to Rebuild, Best is Yet to Come GAO: “However, by fiscal year 2012, investments in highways, transit, high-speed rail, and other transportation infrastructure will be the largest share of state and local Recovery Act funding… Thus, across the years, spending shifts from a primary focus on recovery to a primary focus on reinvestment.” The Administration agrees and expects outlays for projects will double in the first two quarters of this year. As the weather begins to thaw, thousands of construction projects funded in late 2009 are expected to break ground across the country. And work is beginning on major project investments like broadband, health IT, smart grid and weatherization that were made last year.
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Statement from Vice President Biden on Government Accountability Office’s Report on Recovery Act Implementation