The ARRA stimulus program provides federal funds with an unprecedented level of transparency. The uses of stimulus money through March 31, 2011 are detailed in Section 1512 reports that are filed quarterly by ARRA recipients. Jobs information is for the reporting quarter (January 1, 2011 through March 31, 2011) only, with all other information reported cumulatively.

On February 17, 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. ARRA provides increased support to several existing federal programs administered by states as well as creates new programs such as the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund and opportunities for states to apply for competitive grant programs. The purposes of ARRA are:

• 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.

The requirements of ARRA include an unprecedented level of transparency at the federal, state and local level. It requires comprehensive reporting by recipients of the funds. One major reporting requirement of ARRA is the Section 1512 report. Section 1512 of the Recovery Act mandates detailed quarterly reporting by certain ARRA recipients on the cumulative spending of ARRA funds as well as the numbers of jobs created and retained during the reporting quarter. The 1512 reports intend to inform the public of the impact of ARRA at the national, state and local level.

Section 1512 reports are due to federalreporting.gov on day 10 after the end of the reporting quarter. Days 11 through 21 are designated for agencies to review their data and make any necessary corrections and updates. Days 22 through 29 are for federal funding agency review of the data. The federal government must release the data to the public on day 30, on Recovery.gov.

Below you will find some highlights of data reported through Minnesota state agencies as well as information to help you understand the data in the 1512 reports. It is important to note that the data only reflects funding administered by the State of Minnesota and does not include data on programs awarded directly from the federal government to local grant recipients such as cities and counties. This data is reflective of ARRA activities through March 31, 2011, for state administered programs.

Award data

Award data is cumulative for the entire life of the award. Programs administered by the State of Minnesota have currently received $ 5.9 billion in ARRA funding. This amount includes funding for programs as well as funding of benefits for individuals such as Unemployment Insurance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medical Assistance. In addition to federal awards administered by the state, individual tax benefits in Minnesota are projected to total $ 4.2 billion over the next three years.

Jobs data

Jobs data is reflective of the reporting quarter, January 1 through March 31, only. Section 1512 reporting requires recipients of ARRA funds to estimate the number of direct jobs that are created or retained as a result of ARRA funding. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidance defining a job created or retained as a job in which the salaries and wages are paid for with ARRA funds. They also provided instructions for converting hours worked into full time equivalents (FTEs) for the purposes of reporting jobs data. For example a half time job would be reported as 0.5 FTE.

Jobs data is not reported for those programs not subject to federal 1512 requirements. Those programs include entitlement benefits to individuals including Medical Assistance, Unemployment Insurance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Total expenditures for which job data was reported were $ 2,010,005,713.

In Minnesota, the data reported for the period of January 1, 2011 through March 31, 2011 indicates that direct jobs created or retained as a result of ARRA for this time period is 3,202.44 FTEs. These jobs represent a multitude of employment areas throughout the state and include jobs created and retained by grant recipients of ARRA funds, subrecipients and vendors.

In addition to reporting on direct jobs created and retained, ARRA requires the Council of Economic Advisors to report quarterly to Congress on the impact of ARRA on the economy and overall employment. In July 2010, the Council of Economic Advisors submitted their fourth report to Congress that indicated an estimated impact of direct and indirect jobs totaling 60,000 for Minnesota.** The estimate provided by the Council of Economic Advisors is larger than that tracked in the Section 1512 reports since these reports only represent direct jobs created and retained as converted to FTEs.

Spending Data

Spending data is cumulative for the entire life of the award. Recipients of ARRA funding often must incur expenses prior to requesting or receiving reimbursement from the federal government. As of March 31, 2011 state agencies have expended $ 5.9 billion in ARRA funding according to the 1512 reports. Due to this reimbursement method, and the use of subsystems by some state agencies to track expenditures, the reporting in data contained on Recovery.mn 1512 report may be different than that reflected in the Minnesota Accounting and Procurement System (MAPS).

* Data cannot be attested to upon secondary usage. That is, once data is downloaded, it is no longer the responsibility of Minnesota state government to attest to its quality.

**The Economic Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisors, Fourth Quarterly Report, July 14, 2010, Supplement to the Third Quarterly Report, Impact of the ARRA on Employment by State.