About the Recovery Act

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the Recovery Act or the Economic Stimulus Package, was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. It is an unprecedented effort to jump-start the economy, create or save millions of jobs, and address national challenges so that our country can move forward and thrive in the 21st century.

As stated in the Congressional legislation, there are five purposes for the Recovery Act:

• To preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery.
• To assist those most impacted by the recession.
• To provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health.
• To invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits.
• To stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases.

Related links:

• An overview of the Recovery Act (from the Department of Health and Human Services)
• Final Recovery Act Legislation , (1.1 MB)