Vice President Biden Announces End of Year Targets for Recovery Act Progress

Vice President Joe Biden today announced nine new targets for Recovery Act progress through the end of 2009. The nine spotlighted targets are just a few of the many objectives set for Federal agencies implementing the Recovery Act during the final 90 days of 2009. Included in the announcement was a new Administration-wide goal of obligating 60 percent of the CBO estimated $499 billion in spending under the Recovery Act by December 31, 2009.

"We’ve made great progress in the first seven months of Recovery Act implementation in 2009 – now we want to finish the year even stronger," said Vice President Biden. "We want to continue to be ahead of schedule on key metrics, doing all we can to create and save jobs, and building a lasting economic platform for our country."

Vice President Biden last set Recovery Act targets in early June as part of the Recovery Roadmap for the second 100 days of the Recovery Act. At the 200 day mark, he announced that every goal set as part of that effort had been met – and, in many cases, exceeded.

The year-end goals for the Recovery Act (targets to be met by December 31, 2009) that the Vice President announced were:

Batteries for Vehicle Electrification: By the end of the year, the Department of Energy will have put in place funding for battery manufacturing plants that can power 400,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, each year.
Military Hospitals: The Department of Defense will begin 34 construction and modernization projects at hospitals and medical centers throughout the country over the next 90 days, for a total of 65 hospitals and medical centers with projects under construction since passage of the Act.
National Parks: The Department of Interior will begin on-site construction improvement work in 105 more national parks throughout the country over the next 90 days.
Small Business Assistance: The Small Business Administration will provide and leverage $5 billion in capital to over 12,000 small businesses through two key lending programs (7a and 504) in the next 90 days.
Fuel Efficient Bus Purchases: By the end of the year, the Federal Transit Agency will have awarded enough grants to enable the purchase of approximately 10,000 new transit vehicles across the country.
Housing Loans and Rehabilitation: By the end of the year, the Department of Agriculture and the Housing and Urban Development Department will have provided housing loans and capital funding to finance, build, or renovate over 100,000 households across America.
Renewable Energy: By the end of the year, the Departments of Energy and Treasury will help fund renewable energy projects that will generate enough alternative energy to power 900,000 homes in the United States once completed.
Road Projects: By the end of the year, the Department of Transportation will have obligated enough funds to support 10,000 highway projects.
The Recovery Act was signed into law on February 17, 2009 as the country faced the greatest economic crisis in a generation. The Act was designed to create jobs and drive economic growth through a combination of tax relief for individuals and businesses, aid to hard-hit families and state and local governments and funding for science, technology and infrastructure projects across the country. The Council of Economic Advisors estimates that the Recovery Act is responsible for approximately 1 million jobs so far.

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