Governor Kaine Announces 5,900 Jobs Created or Retained by Recovery Act Spending

Press Release

-- Stimulus has brought more than $5 billion to Virginia so far --

Governor Timothy M. Kaine noted today that state agencies have reported more than 5,900 jobs created or saved from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds flowing through the State Treasury. To date, more than $5 billion in ARRA contracts, grants and loans have been awarded in Virginia, with more than half in the form of direct aid to localities and organizations outside of state government.

"President Obama's Recovery Act was intended to get the economy moving again and in Virginia we are beginning to see that occur," Governor Kaine said. "These funds have allowed us to begin construction on infrastructure projects that we would not have been able to build, keep our Medicaid plan funded, improve our schools and in some cases build new ones, and expand unemployment benefits to those most affected by the economic crisis."

As part of the first Recovery Act reporting period, 34 state agencies submitted 415 spending and job reports to the Recovery.gov website. Those include 130 formula grants -- where federal rules dictate the distribution -- and 285 competitive grants and contracts. Of the approximately $2.2 billion awarded through these actions, about $150 million has been spent. Including distributions not included in reporting requirements to date, such as Medicaid and unemployment benefits, Virginia state agencies have received and disbursed more than $1 billion to citizens, local governments and businesses.

The Governor's Recovery Act team submitted its data by the October 10 deadline set by section 1512 of the Recovery Act. The vast majority of spending information to date, including Virginia's reports, is scheduled to be posted on the federal Recovery Act website today

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