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President Barack Obama is expected to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act early next week. The package is a huge step forward as our nation seeks to recover from a recession that has cost 3.6 million jobs since December 2007. The various job-creating investment programs and tax cuts contained in the legislation will help communities across the entire nation. This map shows state-by-state allocations of the provisions for which we could establish where the money is going. This constitutes 69 percent of the total cost of the act. The map compares the amount that each state will get relative to the size of its economy, measured using each state’s 2007 gross state product.
These state and local funds include, among other provisions, direct tax cuts for working families and those with children; increased unemployment insurance and food stamps to help those most in need; new funding to equip the education system for the 21st century; additional funds for clean energy programs; state-level infrastructure projects; and assistance that is necessary to protect vital services such as Medicaid.
Many of the other programs in the recovery plan will be distributed through competitive grants to states and localities, or through funding formulas where it is not possible to make estimates at this stage. The remainder is for programs that are distributed at the federal level. It has not been possible to include these programs in our analysis. The methodology can be found below; you can access the supporting data here (xls).
We are very grateful to the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the National Employment Law Project, the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, and The Workforce Alliance.
Methodology
The allocations below are for the programs and tax cuts in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that are greater than $1 billion and have funding formulas available. These calculations are based on the best data available and there are likely to be some errors at the margin.
Programs covered in the Recovery and Reinvestment Act
$5.0 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program. Source: Department of Energy.
$3.1 billion for the State Energy Program. Source: Department of Energy.
$3.2 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants. The allocation of $2.8 billion of this money was distributed by population. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Energy Information Administration.
$27.1 billion for highway infrastructure investment. Source: Federal Highway Administration.
$8.4 billion for mass transit. Source: Federal Transit Administration.
$4.0 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. We assumed that allocations would be in line with FY2007 Final Title VI Allotments, including some funding for the territories.
$2.0 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. We assumed that allocations would be in line with Tentative Distribution of Fund Appropriations for FY2008, including some funding for the territories.
$13.0 billion for Title I grants. The ESEA Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies funding formula is set out here.
$12.2 billion for IDEA, Part B state grants. The Special Education Grants to States funding formula is set out here.
$2 billion for Child Care Development Block Grant. Source: Center for Law and Social Policy.
$2.1 billion for Head Start. Source: Appropriations Committee.
$15.6 billion for Pell Grants. The Federal Pell Grants funding formula is set out here.
$4.0 billion for Workforce Investment Act employment services. Proportions were taken from the House Appropriations Committee for the $2.95 billion that will be distributed to states.
$26.9 billion for unemployment insurance benefits extensions. We are grateful to the National Employment Law Project for their help with these calculations.
$8.8 billion for unemployment insurance increased benefits. We used the CBO assumption that less than $9 billion would be spent including some for the territories. We used NELP data to estimate how this would be split among states.
$1.1 billion for temporary assistance for states with advances. We are grateful to the National Employment Law Project for their help with these calculations.
$3.0 billion for the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act. Proportions were in line by research from NELP. Source: Center for American Progress Action Fund, Half in Ten, and National Employment Law Project.
$2.0 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. We assumed that the allocations would be in line with current state and local NSP allocations including some funding for the territories.
$2.3 billion for the HOME Program. The same funding formula is used as in FY2008, including some funding for the territories.
$4 billion for Public Housing Capital Funds. We assumed that the allocation of $3.0 billion to states would be in line with FY2008 grants, including some funding for the territories.
$1.5 billion for Emergency Shelter Grants. The same funding formula will be used as in FY2008, including some funding for the territories.
$1 billion for the Community Development Block Grant. The same funding formula is used as in FY2008, including some funding for the territories.
$19 billion for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
$1 billion for child support enforcement. The allocated funds total more than $1 billion as some states will not get the full allocation over time. Source: Center for Law and Social Policy.
$14.3 billion for seniors, disabled veterans, and SSI. We used the funding formula set out by the Senate Finance Committee. Sources: U.S. Social Security Administration, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
$1.0 billion for Community Services Block Grant. Source: Appropriations Committee.
$53.6 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. $62.7 billion will be distributed through the states using the funding formula set out in the 2008 Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$86.6 billion for Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentages. This will be distributed through the funding formula set out in the act. We made estimations for 2009 and multiplied by 2.25 for the recession window. Sources: Congressional Budget Office, Statehealthfacts.org, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
$2.0 billion for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants. We assumed that allocations would be in line with the 2008 JAG Allocation, including some funding for the territories.
$116.2 billion for Make Work Pay. We are grateful to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for their help with these calculations.
$4.6 billion for Earned Income Tax Credit increase. We are grateful to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for their help with these calculations.
$14.8 billion for the Child Tax Credit. We are grateful to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for their help with these calculations.
$5.4 billion for financial assistance for national recovery zones. We used the funding formula set out in the Senate bill. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
$69.8 billion for the Alternative Minimum Tax. We are grateful to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy for their help with these calculations.