RHODE ISLAND
www.recovery.ri.gov/
As of October 13, 2009:
| Agency Reported Data: | | Rank: |
| Funds Announced | $1,026,807,495 | 48 |
| Funds Available | $1,146,059,703 | 42 |
| Funds Paid Out | $497,553,766 | 39 |
| | | |
| Recipient Reported Data: | | Rank: |
| Number of Awards | 11 | 50 |
| Funds Awarded | $7,593,190 | 53 |
| Funds Awarded Per Capita | $7 | 51 |
| Funds Received | $540,798 | 50 |
| Jobs Created / Saved | 6 | 55 |
| Unemployment Rate | 13 | 3 |
Notes: All Rankings are from Highest to Lowest. For example, a ranking of 15 for “Funds Announced” means that the state had the 15th highest amount of funds announced. A ranking of 15 for the unemployment rate means that this state has the 15th highest unemployment rate.
Terms defined by http://www.recovery.gov/
Recipient Reported Data: These data are based on data submitted by federal contract recipients to www.federalreporting.gov between Oct. 1 and Oct. 10, 2009. On Oct. 30, 2009, the final recipient federal contract data and the final data on grants and loans will be available. It is collected and updated quarterly.
Agency Reported Data: These data are based on weekly Financial and Activity Reports filed by federal agencies receiving Recovery Act Funds.
Funds Announced: Funds that have been publicly announced as available to entities outside of the federal government. Not all available funds are announced publicly. For example, the funds going to a project started prior to the Recovery Act that are commingled with the project’s Recovery funds will not be announced publicly before being made available to a recipient. The Funds Announced figure should not be viewed as the total funding that an agency has made available.
Funds Available (Obligation): The term used to describe when an agency informs the public of the release of money to recipients either immediately or in the future.
Funds Awarded: This is the amount of contract dollars that will be made available to recipients.
Funds Paid Out: Funds that have been released from a federal agency to a recipient.
Funds Received:The amount of money each recipient received from a federal award.
Recent Updates:
June 4, 2009
According to the Providence Journal, Rhode Island is one of just five states awarded competitive federal stimulus funds to expanding housing opportunities in the states. The state house agency will receive nearly $37 million to support building, buying and rehabilitating housing for low-income families and individuals. Jobs in the construction industry should be created.
Gov. Carcieri, in a June 1 press release, awarded more than $2 million to run 18-youth-employment programs this summer. An estimated 900 youth ages 14-24 are anticipated to be served.
May 21, 2009
Gov. Carcieri testified to the House Committee on Finance about his tax proposals and posted a video address on his Web site. The governor stressed the need for tax reform in order to stimulate the economy and produce jobs and state revenues.
According to the Providence Journal, Rhode Island’s index of economic health was “awful.” University of Rhode Island Prof. Leonard Lardaro, the index’s author, told the paper “he is now expecting to see a ‘growth bounce.’ The recovery, he said, although unlikely to be rapid, will be helped by the federal stimulus.”
Rhode Island received its second installment of $111 million in federal stimulus funds for education, according to Channel 10 News. According to the May 19 report, “education officials say the money will help reform the education system and save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs that are in danger because of budget cuts.” Rhode Island already received $43 million in education stimulus funds and will be eligible to apply for another $54 million this fall.
April 24, 2009
A skate park in Pawtucket, RI, is cited by some critics as an example of wasteful federal stimulus spending. Rep. Boehner seemed to link the Pawtucket project to a just-released GAO report on ARRA spending. Neither Rhode Island nor the project is mentioned in the GAO report. The report looks at spending in 16 sample states and Washington, DC.
According to the Providence Journal, the park project is funded with Community Development grant funds that cannot be used for police, fire or other community expenses. The part project is "shovel ready." The newspaper reported the city's planning director Michael Cassidy said the $550,000 also frees up money for other construction activities, "so I'll be able to get two projects on the street in the summer and fall" rather than one.
April 17, 2009
According to the Providence Journal, Mayor Cicilline has hired a lobbyist to assure that the city can take advantage of available federal stimulus funds. The mayor is spending $135,000 to contract with former chief of staff to Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.
April 10, 2009
Rhode Island closed a loophole that prevented thousands of residents from getting federal stimulus assistance with COBRA health insurance payments, according to the Providence Journal. The change was approved by legislators and signed into law H 6099 by Gov. Carcieri on April 9, 2009.
April 8, 2009
A Washington Post article finds that the bids for construction jobs using federal stimulus are coming in much lower than expected. Bids in Rhode Island are 10 percent lower than expected. This means stimulus dollars will stretch further for states.
March 25, 2009
Rhode Island may have to spend more for education to qualify for the maximum stimulus funding, according to a Boston.com news report. According to the report, "Governor Don Carcieri has asked the US Department of Education to let his state get the federal funding without having to increase spending. In a worst-case scenario, Rhode Island would need to increase spending 1 percent annually - a total of about $130 million - to get $165 million, mostly for local school districts." According to the Providence Journal, higher education stimulus funding for Rhode Island is caught in the same dilemma. The governor will have to apply for a waiver.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed announced $194 million of federal stimulus for state spending for green projects, according to the Providence Journal. About $150 million in low-interest loans will be available for drinking water and sewer projects and $44 million for home weatherization and renewable energy projects. Sen. Reed said the money will help clean up the Narragansett Bay.
The Providence Journal also reported that Sen. Reed announced that Rhode Island will get $15.4 million in federal stimulus money for renovations and repair to military installations.
Rhode Island will be able to cut the number of senior citizens on waiting lists for the Meals on Wheels program with the nearly half million dollars in federal stimulus money the state will receive, according to a recent ABC Channel 6 report. Food stamp benefits will also increase $4 to $24 because of additional federal stimulus funds. Enrollment in the state's food stamp program is up almost 20 percent since last year. Nearly 100,000 Rhode Islanders are now receiving the benefit, according to a Forbes.com report.
The Providence Journal reports that RI will receive $300,000 for arts programs from a total of $20 million set aside for states. Meanwhile, another $30 million will be available competitively to arts groups through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In both cases, the goal is the same: to protect existing arts jobs threatened by the economic downturn or refill jobs already lost to layoffs and cost-cutting.
March 18, 2009
Governor Carcieri’s proposals for the 2010 budget and modifications in the 2009 budget are facing opposition in the legislature and among local officials. Some contend that his plans for the federal stimulus funds are not allowed under the American Recovery Act. Providence Mayor Cicilline has written a letter of protest to US Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan in response to the Governor’s plan to force local governments to use a portion of their stimulus funds for education. (Cicilline seeks to block Carcieri's use of stimulus money, Providence Journal)
The proposal has been questioned by House Finance Chair Steven Costantino. Members of the Governor’s own party, as of March 12, have not yet agreed to sponsor his budget. Besides the debate over use of stimulus funds, the Carcieri’s call for tax increases to close budget deficits with simultaneous tax cuts intended to stimulate business and economic development has drawn fire.