Billions of stimulus dollars are heading to Texas!
by Mary Scott Nabers
CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc.
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Many companies that ignored governmental marketplaces in the past are finding the public sector very attractive now. SPI researchers are now working with companies who want guidelines in all 50 states detailing how the money will flow.
Much of the early attention on the stimulus bill has been on the $27.5 billion that was allocated for bridge and highway infrastructure. Some of those projects are already turning dirt in other parts of the country.
There are some ARRA funding sources that will lead to contracting opportunities and public/private partnerships. There are also more than 30 different categories of funding whereby money will be allocated through competitive grants.
There will be $53.6 billion in grants headed to governors to prevent service cuts. Some $39.5 billion of that will go to public schools and institutions of higher education and will be distributed through existing funding formulas set in statute.
Another $3.2 billion will be used by the states to make investments in energy efficiency and to reduce carbon emissions. State and local governments will share $300 million for the Clean Cities program to purchase alternative fuel vehicles. A total of $4 billion will go into existing Clean Water State Revolving Funds to help upgrade wastewater treatment systems and another $2 billion will be available through the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. This funding is allocated for drinking water infrastructure.
There are 13 National Park Service sites in Texas that could benefit from $589 million allocated for construction projects. A total of $1.5 billion will be shared by federally qualified health centers across the country for construction, modernization and health information technology.
Public safety programs will get a $4 billion infusion. These funds may be used for everything from purchasing vehicles to upgrading technology.
States and local governments will not have to provide the usual matching funding for $510 million in homeland security grants made available by the ARRA. There is also $150 million in grant funding for transportation, Amtrak and railroad security. Port security funds total $150 million and Firefighter Assistance funds of $210 million will be available for upgrading fire stations.
Military installations, too, will benefit from the stimulus bill as $100 million has been set aside for military construction - $50 million for the Army National Guard and $50 million for the Air National Guard. These funds can be used for planning, design and/or construction.
Airports across the country will benefit from $1.1 billion in discretionary grants-in-aid from the Federal Aviation Administration. Loans, grants and loan guarantees totaling $2.5 billion will be made available for wireless and broadband to serve rural areas.
The contracting opportunities that result from the stimulus bill are widespread throughout many industries - including technology, public safety, security, construction, energy and telecommunications plus a variety of other ancillary services.
In many cases, regulations on how the funding will be distributed have not yet been promulgated by agencies responsible for the distribution, but this will happen soon. Advocacy at all levels of government is at an all-time high. These are historic times...and it is important for contractors, public entities and taxpayers to be ever vigilant.
