Federal Stimulus Passes House

Tonight, the U.S. House passed HR 1, the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act".  While this bill, like any other, could be a better product, it will even in its current form assist communities with infrastructure related projects.  That said, there is still time to make it better.  Clearly, Senators Levin and Stabenow will support this or nearly any version, so our efforts should be focused on getting them to work toward making it a better bill for communities  Look, I'm under (and you should be under) no illusion that a good chunk of whatever money is passed into law for infrastructure will be funneled through state departments like MDOT and MDEQ.  But, we should let both Senators know that limiting the stimulus $ to federal aid eligible projects will put many regions and communities in Michigan at a disadvantage.  Plus, using the current federal distribution structure will put 75% of the money in MDOT's hands.  The issue here is getting the best bang for the buck and local communities are in the best position to get shovels in the ground quickly.  So call Sens. Stabenow and Levin and tell them to make this a better bill.