I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 861 

Making supplemental appropriations for job creation, school repair and modernization, and tax reduction for the fiscal year ending September 30, 

2009, and for other stimulative purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2009 

Mr. MINNICK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

Making supplemental appropriations for job creation, school 

repair and modernization, and tax reduction for the fiscal 

year ending September 30, 2009, and for other stimulative purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strategic Targeted 

5 American Recovery and Transition Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 


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DIVISION A—APPROPRIATION PROVISIONS 

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

TITLE II—LABOR AND EDUCATION 

TITLE III—TRANSPORTATION 

DIVISION B—TAX PROVISIONS 

TITLE I—ADDITIONAL TAX RELIEF FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN 

TITLE II—TAX INCENTIVES FOR BUSINESS 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES. 

2 (a) STATEMENT OF PURPOSES.—The purposes of 

3 this Act include the following: 

4 (1) To preserve and create jobs and promote 

5 economic recovery. 

6 (2) To assist those most impacted by the reces7 sion. 

8 (3) To invest in transportation and other infra9 structure that will provide short-term and long-term 

10 economic benefits. 

11 (b) GENERAL PRINCIPLES CONCERNING USE OF

12 FUNDS.—The President and the heads of Federal depart13 ments and agencies shall manage and expend the funds 

14 made available in this Act so as to achieve the purposes 

15 specified in subsection (a), including commencing expendi16 tures and activities as quickly as possible consistent with 

17 prudent management. 

18 SEC. 4. REFERENCES. 

19 Except as expressly provided otherwise, any reference 

20 to ‘‘this Act’’ contained in any division of this Act shall 


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1 be treated as referring only to the provisions of that divi2 sion. 

3 SEC. 5. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION. 

4 Each amount in this Act is designated as an emer5 gency requirement and necessary to meet emergency needs 

6 pursuant to section 204(a) of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Con7 gress) and section 301(b)(2) of S. Con. Res. 70 (110th 

8 Congress), the concurrent resolutions on the budget for 

9 fiscal years 2008 and 2009. 

10 SEC. 6. PAY-AS-YOU-GO. 

11 (a) NARROWING THE PAY-AS-YOU-GO ESCAPE

12 HATCH.—Pay-as-you-go principles and requirements shall 

13 apply to all mandatory spending in this Act, and shall not 

14 be waived under an economic emergency provision of any 

15 law or congressional rule. 

16 (b) STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO.— 

17 (1) PURPOSE.—Section 252(a) of the Balanced 

18 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

19 is amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘2017’’. 

21 (2) SEQUESTRATION.—Section 252(b)(1) of the 

22 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 

23 Act of 1985 is amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ and in24 serting ‘‘2017’’. 


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1 (3) EXPIRATION.—Section 275(b) of the Bal2 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 

3 1985 is amended by striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘2021’’. 

5 DIVISION A—APPROPRIATION 

6 PROVISIONS 

7 SEC. 1001. STATEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 The following sums in this Act are appropriated, out 

9 of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

10 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for 

11 other purposes. 

12 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

13 Subtitle A—Use of Funds 

14 SEC. 1101. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 Each amount appropriated or made available in this 

16 Act is in addition to amounts otherwise appropriated for 

17 the fiscal year involved. Enactment of this Act shall have 

18 no effect on the availability of amounts under the Con19 tinuing Appropriations Resolution, 2009 (division A of 

20 Public Law 110–329). 

21 SEC. 1102. PREFERENCE FOR QUICK-START ACTIVITIES. 

22 In using funds made available in this Act for infra23 structure investment, recipients shall give preference to 

24 activities that can be started and completed expeditiously, 

25 including a goal of using at least 80 percent of the funds 


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1 for activities that can be initiated not later than 120 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act. Recipients 

3 shall also use grant funds in a manner that maximizes 

4 job creation and economic benefit. Federal funds under 

5 this Act may be utilized for State projects that use Grant 

6 Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) bonds. 

7 SEC. 1103. REQUIREMENT OF TIMELY AWARD OF GRANTS. 

8 (a) FORMULA GRANTS.—Formula grants using funds 

9 made available in this Act shall be awarded not later than 

10 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act (or, 

11 in the case of appropriations not available upon enact12 ment, not later than 30 days after the appropriation be13 comes available for obligation), unless expressly provided 

14 otherwise in this Act. 

15 (b) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—Competitive grants 

16 using funds made available in this Act shall be awarded 

17 not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act (or, in the case of appropriations not available 

19 upon enactment, not later than 90 days after the appro20 priation becomes available for obligation), unless expressly 

21 provided otherwise in this Act. 

22 (c) ADDITIONAL PERIOD FOR NEW PROGRAMS.—The 

23 time limits specified in subsections (a) and (b) may each 

24 be extended by up to 30 days in the case of grants for 

25 which funding was not provided in fiscal year 2008. 


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1 SEC. 1104. USE IT OR LOSE IT REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT2 EES. 

3 (a) DEADLINE FOR BINDING COMMITMENTS.—Each 

4 recipient of a grant made using amounts made available 

5 in this Act in any account listed in subsection (c) shall 

6 enter into contracts or other binding commitments not 

7 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act (or not later than 9 months after the grant is award9 ed, if later) to make use of 100 percent of the funds 

10 awarded. In the case of activities to be carried out directly 

11 by a grant recipient (rather than by contracts, subgrants, 

12 or other arrangements with third parties), a certification 

13 by the recipient specifying the amounts, planned timing, 

14 and purpose of such expenditures shall be deemed a bind15 ing commitment for purposes of this section. 

16 (b) REDISTRIBUTION OF UNCOMMITTED FUNDS.— 

17 The head of the Federal department or agency involved 

18 shall recover or deobligate any grant funds not committed 

19 in accordance with subsection (a), and redistribute such 

20 funds to other recipients eligible under the grant program 

21 and able to make use of such funds in a timely manner 

22 (including binding commitments within 120 days after the 

23 reallocation). 

24 (c) APPROPRIATIONS TO WHICH THIS SECTION AP25 PLIES.—This section shall apply to grants made using 


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1 amounts appropriated in any of the following accounts 

2 within this Act: 

3 (1) ‘‘Department of Transportation—Federal 

4 Transit Administration—Transit Capital Assist5 ance’’. 

6 (2) ‘‘Department of Transportation—Federal 

7 Transit Administration—Fixed Guideway Infra8 structure Investment’’. 

9 (3) ‘‘Department of Transportation—Federal 

10 Transit Administration—Capital Investment 

11 Grants’’. 

12 SEC. 1105. PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY. 

13 All funds appropriated in this Act shall remain avail14 able for obligation until September 30, 2010, unless ex15 pressly provided otherwise in this Act. 

16 SEC. 1106. SET-ASIDE FOR MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT. 

17 Unless other provision is made in this Act (or in other 

18 applicable law) for such expenses, up to 0.5 percent of 

19 each amount appropriated in this Act may be used for the 

20 expenses of management and oversight of the programs, 

21 grants, and activities funded by such appropriation, and 

22 may be transferred by the head of the Federal department 

23 or agency involved to any other appropriate account within 

24 the department or agency for that purpose. Funds set 


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1 aside under this section shall remain available for obliga2 tion until September 30, 2010. 

3 SEC. 1107. APPROPRIATIONS FOR INSPECTORS GENERAL. 

4 In addition to funds otherwise made available in this 

5 Act, there are hereby appropriated the following sums to 

6 the specified Offices of Inspector General, to remain avail7 able until September 30, 2010, for oversight and audit of 

8 programs, grants, and projects funded under this Act: 

9 (1) ‘‘Department of Education—Departmental 

10 Management—Office of the Inspector General’’, 

11 $14,000,000. 

12 (2) ‘‘Department of Energy—Office of Inspec13 tor General’’, $15,000,000. 

14 (3) ‘‘Department of Labor—Departmental 

15 Management—Office of Inspector General’’, 

16 $6,000,000. 

17 (4) ‘‘Department of Transportation—Office of 

18 Inspector General’’, $20,000,000. 

19 SEC. 1108. APPROPRIATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT20 ABILITY OFFICE. 

21 There is hereby appropriated as an additional amount 

22 for ‘‘Government Accountability Office—Salaries and Ex23 penses’’ $25,000,000, for oversight activities relating to 

24 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 1109. PROHIBITED USES. 

2 None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 

3 available in this Act may be used for any casino or other 

4 gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, or swimming pool. 

5 SEC. 1110. USE OF AMERICAN IRON AND STEEL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—None of the funds appropriated 

7 or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for 

8 a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or 

9 repair of a public building or public work unless all of the 

10 iron and steel used in the project is produced in the United 

11 States. 

12 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply in 

13 any case in which the head of the Federal department or 

14 agency involved finds that— 

15 (1) applying subsection (a) would be incon16 sistent with the public interest; 

17 (2) iron and steel are not produced in the 

18 United States in sufficient and reasonably available 

19 quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or 

20 (3) inclusion of iron and steel produced in the 

21 United States will increase the cost of the overall 

22 project by more than 20 percent. 

23 (c) WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION FOR WAIVER.—If the 

24 head of a Federal department or agency determines that 

25 it is necessary to waive the application of subsection (a) 

26 based on a finding under subsection (b), the head of the 


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1 department or agency shall publish in the Federal Register 

2 a detailed written justification as to why the provision is 

3 being waived. 

4 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘public 

5 building’’ and ‘‘public work’’ have the meanings given such 

6 terms in section 1 of the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 

7 10c) and include airports, bridges, canals, dams, dikes, 

8 pipelines, railroads, multiline mass transit systems, roads, 

9 tunnels, harbors, and piers. 

10 SEC. 1111. WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law and in 

12 a manner consistent with other provisions in this Act, all 

13 laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and sub14 contractors on projects funded directly by or assisted in 

15 whole or in part by and through the Federal Government 

16 pursuant to this Act shall be paid wages at rates not less 

17 than those prevailing on projects of a character similar 

18 in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor 

19 in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 

20 40, United States Code. With respect to the labor stand21 ards specified in this section, the Secretary of Labor shall 

22 have the authority and functions set forth in Reorganiza23 tion Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. 

24 App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 1112. PERSISTENT POVERTY COUNTIES. 

2 (a) ALLOCATION REQUIREMENT.—Of the amount ap3 propriated in this Act for ‘‘Department of Agriculture— 

4 Rural Development Programs—Rural Community Ad5 vancement Program’’, at least 10 percent shall be allo6 cated for assistance in persistent poverty counties. 

7 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

8 term ‘‘persistent poverty counties’’ means any county that 

9 has had 20 percent or more of its population living in pov10 erty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1980, 

11 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses. 

12 SEC. 1113. REQUIRED PARTICIPATION IN E-VERIFY PRO13 GRAM. 

14 None of the funds made available in this Act may 

15 be used to enter into a contract with an entity that does 

16 not participate in the E-verify program described in sec17 tion 401(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi18 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note). 

19 Subtitle B—Accountability in 

20 Recovery Act Spending 

21 PART 1—TRANSPARENCY AND OVERSIGHT 

22 REQUIREMENTS 

23 SEC. 1201. TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS. 

24 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

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1 ery.gov (as established under section 1226 of this sub2 title)— 

3 (1) a plan for using funds made available in 

4 this Act to the agency; and 

5 (2) all announcements for grant competitions, 

6 allocations of formula grants, and awards of com7 petitive grants using those funds. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL, STATE, AND

9 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.— 

10 (1) INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT FUND11 ING.—With respect to funds made available under 

12 this Act for infrastructure investments to Federal, 

13 State, or local government agencies, the following re14 quirements apply: 

15 (A) Each such agency shall notify the pub16 lic of funds obligated to particular infrastruc17 ture investments by posting the notification on 

18 the website Recovery.gov. 

19 (B) The notification required by subpara20 graph (A) shall include the following: 

21 (i) A description of the infrastructure 

22 investment funded. 

23 (ii) The purpose of the infrastructure 

24 investment. 


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1 (iii) The total cost of the infrastruc2 ture investment. 

3 (iv) The rationale of the agency for 

4 funding the infrastructure investment with 

5 funds made available under this Act. 

6 (v) The name of the person to contact 

7 at the agency if there are concerns with 

8 the infrastructure investment and, with re9 spect to Federal agencies, an email address 

10 for the Federal official in the agency whom 

11 the public can contact. 

12 (vi) In the case of State or local agen13 cies, a certification from the Governor, 

14 mayor, or other chief executive, as appro15 priate, that the infrastructure investment 

16 has received the full review and vetting re17 quired by law and that the chief executive 

18 accepts responsibility that the infrastruc19 ture investment is an appropriate use of 

20 taxpayer dollars. A State or local agency 

21 may not receive infrastructure investment 

22 funding from funds made available in this 

23 Act unless this certification is made. 

24 (2) OPERATIONAL FUNDING.—With respect to 

25 funds made available under this Act in the form of 


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1 grants for operational purposes to State or local gov2 ernment agencies or other organizations, the agency 

3 or organization shall publish on the website Recov4 ery.gov a description of the intended use of the 

5 funds, including the number of jobs sustained or cre6 ated. 

7 (c) AVAILABILITY ON INTERNET OF CONTRACTS AND

8 GRANTS.—Each contract awarded or grant issued using 

9 funds made available in this Act shall be posted on the 

10 Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov. Propri11 etary data that is required to be kept confidential under 

12 applicable Federal or State law or regulation shall be re13 dacted before posting. 

14 SEC. 1202. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEWS. 

15 (a) REVIEWS.—Any inspector general of a Federal 

16 department or executive agency shall review, as appro17 priate, any concerns raised by the public about specific 

18 investments using funds made available in this Act. Any 

19 findings of an inspector general resulting from such a re20 view shall be relayed immediately to the head of each de21 partment and agency. In addition, the findings of such re22 views, along with any audits conducted by any inspector 

23 general of funds made available in this Act, shall be posted 

24 on the Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov. 


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1 (b) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS.—The Inspector 

2 General of the agency concerned may examine any records 

3 related to obligations of funds made available in this Act. 

4 SEC. 1203. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE5 VIEWS AND REPORTS. 

6 (a) REVIEWS AND REPORTS.—The Comptroller Gen7 eral of the United States shall conduct bimonthly reviews 

8 and prepare reports on such reviews on the use by selected 

9 States and localities of funds made available in this Act. 

10 Such reports, along with any audits conducted by the 

11 Comptroller General of such funds, shall be posted on the 

12 Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov. 

13 (b) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS.—The Comptroller 

14 General may examine any records related to obligations 

15 of funds made available in this Act. 

16 SEC. 1204. COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS REPORTS. 

17 The Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, 

18 in consultation with the Director of the Office of Manage19 ment and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 

20 submit quarterly reports to Congress detailing the esti21 mated impact of programs under this Act on employment, 

22 economic growth, and other key economic indicators. 

23 SEC. 1205. SPECIAL CONTRACTING PROVISIONS. 

24 The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall apply to 

25 contracts awarded with funds made available in this Act. 


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1 To the maximum extent possible, such contracts shall be 

2 awarded as fixed-price contracts through the use of com3 petitive procedures. Existing contracts so awarded may be 

4 utilized in order to obligate such funds expeditiously. Any 

5 contract awarded with such funds that is not fixed-price 

6 and not awarded using competitive procedures shall be 

7 posted in a special section of the website Recovery.gov. 

8 PART 2—ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY 

9 BOARD 

10 SEC. 1221. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

11 TRANSPARENCY BOARD. 

12 There is established a board to be known as the ‘‘Re13 covery Act Accountability and Transparency Board’’ 

14 (hereafter in this subtitle referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) to 

15 coordinate and conduct oversight of Federal spending 

16 under this Act to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. 

17 SEC. 1222. COMPOSITION OF BOARD. 

18 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed of 

19 seven members as follows: 

20 (1) The Chief Performance Officer of the Presi21 dent, who shall chair the Board. 

22 (2) Six members designated by the President 

23 from the inspectors general and deputy secretaries 

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1 tation, and other Federal departments and agencies 

2 to which funds are made available in this Act. 

3 (b) TERMS.—Each member of the Board shall serve 

4 for a term to be determined by the President. 

5 SEC. 1223. FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD. 

6 (a) OVERSIGHT.—The Board shall coordinate and 

7 conduct oversight of spending under this Act to prevent 

8 waste, fraud, and abuse. In addition to responsibilities set 

9 forth in this subtitle, the responsibilities of the Board shall 

10 include the following: 

11 (1) Ensuring that the reporting of information 

12 regarding contract and grants under this Act meets 

13 applicable standards and specifies the purpose of the 

14 contract or grant and measures of performance. 

15 (2) Verifying that competition requirements ap16 plicable to contracts and grants under this Act and 

17 other applicable Federal law have been satisfied. 

18 (3) Investigating spending under this Act to de19 termine whether wasteful spending, poor contract or 

20 grant management, or other abuses are occurring. 

21 (4) Reviewing whether there are sufficient 

22 qualified acquisition and grant personnel overseeing 

23 spending under this Act. 

24 (5) Reviewing whether acquisition and grant 

25 personnel receive adequate training and whether 


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1 there are appropriate mechanisms for interagency 

2 collaboration. 

3 (b) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) FLASH AND OTHER REPORTS.—The Board 

5 shall submit to Congress reports, to be known as 

6 ‘‘flash reports’’, on potential management and fund7 ing problems that require immediate attention. The 

8 Board also shall submit to Congress such other re9 ports as the Board considers appropriate on the use 

10 and benefits of funds made available in this Act. 

11 (2) QUARTERLY.—The Board shall submit to 

12 the President and Congress quarterly reports sum13 marizing its findings and the findings of agency in14 spectors general and may issue additional reports as 

15 appropriate. 

16 (3) ANNUALLY.—On an annual basis, the 

17 Board shall prepare a consolidated report on the use 

18 of funds under this Act. All reports shall be publicly 

19 available and shall be posted on the Internet website 

20 Recovery.gov, except that portions of reports may be 

21 redacted if the portions would disclose information 

22 that is protected from public disclosure under sec23 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code (popularly 

24 known as the Freedom of Information Act). 


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1 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS TO AGENCIES.—The Board 

2 shall make recommendations to Federal agencies on meas3 ures to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. A Federal agency 

4 shall, within 30 days after receipt of any such rec5 ommendation, submit to the Board, the President, and the 

6 congressional committees of jurisdiction a report on 

7 whether the agency agrees or disagrees with the rec8 ommendations and what steps, if any, the agency plans 

9 to take to implement the recommendations. 

10 SEC. 1224. POWERS OF THE BOARD. 

11 (a) COORDINATION OF AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS

12 BY AGENCY INSPECTORS GENERAL.—The Board shall co13 ordinate the audits and investigations of spending under 

14 this Act by agency inspectors general. 

15 (b) CONDUCT OF REVIEWS BY BOARD.—The Board 

16 may conduct reviews of spending under this Act and may 

17 collaborate on such reviews with any inspector general. 

18 (c) MEETINGS.—The Board may, for the purpose of 

19 carrying out its duties under this Act, hold public meet20 ings, sit and act at times and places, and receive informa21 tion as the Board considers appropriate. The Board shall 

22 meet at least once a month. 

23 (d) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Board may 

24 secure directly from any department or agency of the 

25 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 


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1 out its duties under this Act. Upon request of the Chair2 man of the Board, the head of that department or agency 

3 shall furnish that information to the Board. 

4 (e) CONTRACTS.—The Board may enter into con5 tracts to enable the Board to discharge its duties under 

6 this Act. 

7 SEC. 1225. STAFFING. 

8 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Chairman of the 

9 Board may appoint and fix the compensation of an execu10 tive director and other personnel as may be required to 

11 carry out the functions of the Board. The Director shall 

12 be paid at the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Execu13 tive Schedule. 

14 (b) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

15 of the Board, the head of any Federal department or agen16 cy may detail any Federal official or employee, including 

17 officials and employees of offices of inspector general, to 

18 the Board without reimbursement from the Board, and 

19 such detailed staff shall retain the rights, status, and 

20 privileges of his or her regular employment without inter21 ruption. 

22 (c) OFFICE SPACE.—Office space shall be provided 

23 to the Board within the Executive Office of the President. 


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1 SEC. 1226. RECOVERY.GOV. 

2 (a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH WEBSITE.—The 

3 Board shall establish and maintain a website on the Inter4 net to be named Recovery.gov, to foster greater account5 ability and transparency in the use of funds made avail6 able in this Act. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—Recovery.gov shall be a portal or 

8 gateway to key information related to this Act and provide 

9 a window to other Government websites with related infor10 mation. 

11 (c) MATTERS COVERED.—In establishing the website 

12 Recovery.gov, the Board shall ensure the following: 

13 (1) The website shall provide materials explain14 ing what this Act means for citizens. The materials 

15 shall be easy to understand and regularly updated. 

16 (2) The website shall provide accountability in17 formation, including a database of findings from au18 dits, inspectors general, and the Government Ac19 countability Office. 

20 (3) The website shall provide data on relevant 

21 economic, financial, grant, and contract information 

22 in user-friendly visual presentations to enhance pub23 lic awareness of the use funds made available in this 

24 Act. 

25 (4) The website shall provide detailed data on 

26 contracts awarded by the Government for purposes 


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1 of carrying out this Act, including information about 

2 the competitiveness of the contracting process, noti3 fication of solicitations for contracts to be awarded, 

4 and information about the process that was used for 

5 the award of contracts. 

6 (5) The website shall include printable reports 

7 on funds made available in this Act obligated by 

8 month to each State and congressional district. 

9 (6) The website shall provide a means for the 

10 public to give feedback on the performance of con11 tracts awarded for purposes of carrying out this Act. 

12 (7) The website shall be enhanced and updated 

13 as necessary to carry out the purposes of this sub14 title. 

15 SEC. 1227. PRESERVATION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF IN16 SPECTORS GENERAL. 

17 Inspectors general shall retain independent authority 

18 to determine whether to conduct an audit or investigation 

19 of spending under this Act. If the Board requests that 

20 an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting 

21 an audit or investigation and the inspector general rejects 

22 the request in whole or in part, the inspector general shall, 

23 within 30 days after receipt of the request, submit to the 

24 Board, the agency head, and the congressional committees 


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1 of jurisdiction a report explaining why the inspector gen2 eral has rejected the request in whole or in part. 

3 SEC. 1228. COORDINATION WITH THE COMPTROLLER GEN4 ERAL AND STATE AUDITORS. 

5 The Board shall coordinate its oversight activities 

6 with the Comptroller General of the United States and 

7 State auditor generals. 

8 SEC. 1229. INDEPENDENT ADVISORY PANEL. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a panel 

10 to be known as the ‘‘Independent Advisory Panel’’ to ad11 vise the Board. 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be composed of 

13 five members appointed by the President from among indi14 viduals with expertise in economics, public finance, con15 tracting, accounting, or other relevant fields. 

16 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Panel shall make rec17 ommendations to the Board on actions the Board could 

18 take to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spend19 ing under this Act. 

20 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Panel 

21 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

22 of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

23 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 SEC. 1230. FUNDING. 

2 There is hereby appropriated to the Board 

3 $14,000,000 to carry out this subtitle. 

4 SEC. 1231. BOARD TERMINATION. 

5 The Board shall terminate 12 months after 90 per6 cent of the funds made available under this Act have been 

7 expended, as determined by the Director of the Office of 

8 Management and Budget. 

9 PART 3—ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

10 TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 1241. LIMITATION ON THE LENGTH OF CERTAIN NON12 COMPETITIVE CONTRACTS. 

13 No contract entered into using funds made available 

14 in this Act pursuant to the authority provided in section 

15 303(c)(2) of the Federal Property and Administrative 

16 Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)(2)) that is for an 

17 amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold 

18 (as defined in section 4(11) of the Office of Federal Pro19 curement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. (4)(11))— 

20 (1) may exceed the time necessary— 

21 (A) to meet the unusual and compelling re22 quirements of the work to be performed under 

23 the contract; and 

24 (B) for the executive agency to enter into 

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1 ices through the use of competitive procedures; 

2 and 

3 (2) may exceed one year unless the head of the 

4 executive agency entering into such contract deter5 mines that exceptional circumstances apply. 

6 SEC. 1242. ACCESS OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF7 FICE AND OFFICES OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 

8 TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. 

9 (a) ACCESS.—Each contract awarded using funds 

10 made available in this Act shall provide that the Comp11 troller General and his representatives, and any represent12 atives of an appropriate inspector general appointed under 

13 section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

14 U.S.C. App.), are authorized— 

15 (1) to examine any records of the contractor or 

16 any of its subcontractors, or any State or local agen17 cy administering such contract, that directly pertain 

18 to, and involve transactions relating to, the contract 

19 or subcontract; and 

20 (2) to interview any current employee regarding 

21 such transactions. 

22 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING AUTHORITY.— 

23 Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit or re24 strict in any way any existing authority of the Comptroller 

25 General or an Inspector General. 


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1 SEC. 1243. PROTECTING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

2 AND CONTRACTOR WHISTLEBLOWERS. 

3 (a) PROHIBITION OF REPRISALS.—An employee of 

4 any non-Federal employer receiving funds made available 

5 in this Act may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise 

6 discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing to the 

7 Board, an inspector general, the Comptroller General, a 

8 member of Congress, or a Federal agency head, or their 

9 representatives, information that the employee reasonably 

10 believes is evidence of— 

11 (1) gross mismanagement of an executive agen12 cy contract or grant; 

13 (2) a gross waste of executive agency funds; 

14 (3) a substantial and specific danger to public 

15 health or safety; or 

16 (4) a violation of law related to an executive 

17 agency contract (including the competition for or ne18 gotiation of a contract) or grant awarded or issued 

19 to carry out this Act. 

20 (b) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.— 

21 (1) A person who believes that the person has 

22 been subjected to a reprisal prohibited by subsection 

23 (a) may submit a complaint to the inspector general 

24 of the executive agency that awarded the contract or 

25 issued the grant. Unless the inspector general deter26 mines that the complaint is frivolous, the inspector 


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1 general shall investigate the complaint and, upon 

2 completion of such investigation, submit a report of 

3 the findings of the investigation to the person, the 

4 person’s employer, the head of the Federal agency 

5 that awarded the contract or issued the grant, and 

6 the Board. 

7 (2)(A) Except as provided under subparagraph 

8 (B), the inspector general shall make a determina9 tion that a complaint is frivolous or submit a report 

10 under paragraph (1) within 180 days after receiving 

11 the complaint. 

12 (B) If the inspector general is unable to com13 plete an investigation in time to submit a report 

14 within the 180-day period specified in subparagraph 

15 (A) and the person submitting the complaint agrees 

16 to an extension of time, the inspector general shall 

17 submit a report under paragraph (1) within such ad18 ditional period of time as shall be agreed upon be19 tween the inspector general and the person submit20 ting the complaint. 

21 (c) REMEDY AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

22 (1) Not later than 30 days after receiving an 

23 inspector general report pursuant to subsection (b), 

24 the head of the agency concerned shall determine 

25 whether there is sufficient basis to conclude that the 


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1 non-Federal employer has subjected the complainant 

2 to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a) and shall 

3 either issue an order denying relief or shall take one 

4 or more of the following actions: 

5 (A) Order the employer to take affirmative 

6 action to abate the reprisal. 

7 (B) Order the employer to reinstate the 

8 person to the position that the person held be9 fore the reprisal, together with the compensa10 tion (including back pay), employment benefits, 

11 and other terms and conditions of employment 

12 that would apply to the person in that position 

13 if the reprisal had not been taken. 

14 (C) Order the employer to pay the com15 plainant an amount equal to the aggregate 

16 amount of all costs and expenses (including at17 torneys’ fees and expert witnesses’ fees) that 

18 were reasonably incurred by the complainant 

19 for, or in connection with, bringing the com20 plaint regarding the reprisal, as determined by 

21 the head of the agency. 

22 (2) If the head of an executive agency issues an 

23 order denying relief under paragraph (1) or has not 

24 issued an order within 210 days after the submission 

25 of a complaint under subsection (b), or in the case 


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1 of an extension of time under paragraph (b)(2)(B), 

2 not later than 30 days after the expiration of the ex3 tension of time, and there is no showing that such 

4 delay is due to the bad faith of the complainant, the 

5 complainant shall be deemed to have exhausted all 

6 administrative remedies with respect to the com7 plaint, and the complainant may bring a de novo ac8 tion at law or equity against the employer to seek 

9 compensatory damages and other relief available 

10 under this section in the appropriate district court 

11 of the United States, which shall have jurisdiction 

12 over such an action without regard to the amount in 

13 controversy. Such an action shall, at the request of 

14 either party to the action, be tried by the court with 

15 a jury. 

16 (3) An inspector general determination and an 

17 agency head order denying relief under paragraph 

18 (2) shall be admissible in evidence in any de novo 

19 action at law or equity brought pursuant to this sub20 section. 

21 (4) Whenever a person fails to comply with an 

22 order issued under paragraph (1), the head of the 

23 agency shall file an action for enforcement of such 

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1 curred. In any action brought under this paragraph, 

2 the court may grant appropriate relief, including in3 junctive relief and compensatory and exemplary 

4 damages. 

5 (5) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved 

6 by an order issued under paragraph (1) may obtain 

7 review of the order’s conformance with this sub8 section, and any regulations issued to carry out this 

9 section, in the United States court of appeals for a 

10 circuit in which the reprisal is alleged in the order 

11 to have occurred. No petition seeking such review 

12 may be filed more than 60 days after issuance of the 

13 order by the head of the agency. Review shall con14 form to chapter 7 of title 5. 

15 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be 

16 construed to authorize the discharge of, demotion of, or 

17 discrimination against an employee for a disclosure other 

18 than a disclosure protected by subsection (a) or to modify 

19 or derogate from a right or remedy otherwise available to 

20 the employee. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.— 

22 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYER RECEIVING

23 FUNDS UNDER THIS ACT.—The term ‘‘non-Federal 

24 employer receiving funds made available in this Act’’ 

25 means— 


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1 (A) with respect to a Federal contract 

2 awarded or Federal grant issued to carry out 

3 this Act, the contractor or grantee, as the case 

4 may be, if the contractor or grantee is an em5 ployer; or 

6 (B) a State or local government, if the 

7 State or local government has received funds 

8 made available in this Act. 

9 (2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive 

10 agency’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

11 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act 

12 (41 U.S.C. 403). 

13 (3) STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

14 ‘‘State or local government’’ means— 

15 (A) the government of each of the several 

16 States, the District of Columbia, the Common17 wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 

18 the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Is19 lands, or any other territory or possession of 

20 the United States; or 

21 (B) the government of any political sub22 division of a government listed in subparagraph 

23 (A). 


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1 TITLE II—LABOR AND 

2 EDUCATION 

3 Subtitle A—Labor 

4 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

5 EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION

6 TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

7 For an additional amount for ‘‘Training and Employ8 ment Services’’ for activities under the Workforce Invest9 ment Act of 1998 (‘‘WIA’’), $4,000,000,000, which shall 

10 be available for obligation on the date of enactment of this 

11 Act, as follows: 

12 (1) $850,000,000 for grants to the States for 

13 adult employment and training activities; 

14 (2) $850,000,000 for grants to the States for 

15 youth activities, including summer jobs for youth: 

16 Provided, That the work readiness performance indi17 cator described in section 136(b)(2)(A)(ii)(I) of the 

18 WIA shall be the only measure of performance used 

19 to assess the effectiveness of summer jobs for youth 

20 provided with such funds: Provided further, That 

21 with respect to the youth activities provided with 

22 such funds, section 101(13)(A) of the WIA shall be 

23 applied by substituting ‘‘age 24’’ for ‘‘age 21’’: Pro24 vided further, That no portion of the additional 

25 funds provided herein shall be reserved to carry out 


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1 section 127(b)(1)(A) of the WIA: Provided further, 

2 That for purposes of section 127(b)(1)(C)(iv) of the 

3 WIA, such funds shall be allotted as if the total 

4 amount of funding available for youth activities in 

5 the fiscal year does not exceed $850,000,000; 

6 (3) $1,000,000,000 for grants to the States for 

7 dislocated worker employment and training activi8 ties; 

9 (4) $500,000,000 for the dislocated workers as10 sistance national reserve to remain available for 

11 Federal obligation through June 30, 2010: Provided, 

12 That such funds shall be made available for grants 

13 only to eligible entities that serve areas of high un14 employment or high poverty and only for the pur15 poses described in subsection 173(a)(1) of the WIA: 

16 Provided further, That the Secretary of Labor shall 

17 ensure that applicants for such funds demonstrate 

18 how income support, child care, and other supportive 

19 services necessary for an individual’s participation in 

20 job training will be provided; 

21 (5) $50,000,000 for YouthBuild activities, 

22 which shall remain available for Federal obligation 

23 through June 30, 2010; and 

24 (6) $750,000,000 for a program of competitive 

25 grants for worker training and placement in high 


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1 growth and emerging industry sectors: Provided, 

2 That $500,000,000 shall be for research, labor ex3 change and job training projects that prepare work4 ers for careers in the energy efficiency and renew5 able energy industries specified in section 

6 171(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the WIA (as amended by the 

7 Green Jobs Act of 2007): 

8 Provided, That the additional funds provided to States 

9 under this heading are not subject to section 191(a) of 

10 the WIA: Provided further, That notwithstanding section 

11 1106 of this Act, there shall be no amount set aside from 

12 the appropriations made in subsections (1) through (3) 

13 under this heading and the amount set aside for sub14 sections (4) through (6) shall be up to 1 percent instead 

15 of the percentage specified in such section. 

16 COMMUNITY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT FOR OLDER

17 AMERICANS

18 For an additional amount for ‘‘Community Service 

19 Employment for Older Americans’’ to carry out title V of 

20 the Older Americans Act of 1965, $120,000,000, which 

21 shall be available for obligation on the date of enactment 

22 of this Act: Provided, That funds shall be allotted within 

23 30 days of such enactment to current grantees in propor24 tion to their allotment in program year 2008. 


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1 DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT

2 OFFICE OF JOB CORPS

3 For an additional amount for ‘‘Office of Job Corps’’, 

4 $300,000,000, for construction, rehabilitation and acquisi5 tion of Job Corps Centers, which shall be available upon 

6 the date of enactment of this Act and remain available 

7 for obligation through June 30, 2010: Provided, That sec8 tion 1552(a) of title 31, United States Code shall not 

9 apply to up to 30 percent of such funds, if such funds 

10 are used for a multi-year lease agreement that will result 

11 in construction activities that can commence within 120 

12 days of enactment of this Act: Provided further, That not13 withstanding section 3324(a) of title 31, United States 

14 Code, the funds referred to in the preceding proviso may 

15 be used for advance, progress, and other payments: Pro16 vided further, That the Secretary of Labor may transfer 

17 up to 15 percent of such funds to meet the operational 

18 needs of such centers: Provided further, That priority 

19 should be given to activities that can commence promptly 

20 following enactment and to those projects that will create 

21 the greatest impact on Job Corps facilities: Provided fur22 ther, That the Secretary shall provide to the Committees 

23 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

24 Senate a report on the actual obligations, expenditures, 

25 and unobligated balances for each activity funded under 


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1 this heading not later than September 30, 2009 and quar2 terly thereafter as long as funding provided under this 

3 heading is available for obligation or expenditure. 

4 Subtitle B—Education 

5 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

6 SCHOOL MODERNIZATION, RENOVATION, AND REPAIR

7 For carrying out school modernization, renovation, 

8 and repair, not to exceed $14,000,000,000. 

9 HIGHER EDUCATION MODERNIZATION, RENOVATION, 

10 AND REPAIR

11 For carrying out higher education modernization, 

12 renovation, and repair, $6,000,000,000. 

13 Subtitle C—General Provisions 

14 SEC. 2301. CEILING ON TOTAL COST. 

15 Any funds appropriated in this title shall be available 

16 for obligation or expenditure only to the extent that such 

17 obligation or expenditure will not cause the total amount 

18 of obligations or expenditures under this title to exceed 

19 $14,000,000,000. 


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1 TITLE III—TRANSPORTATION 

2 Subtitle A—Highways and Transit 

3 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

4 FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

5 HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

6 For projects and activities eligible under section 133 

7 of title 23, United States Code, section 144 of such title 

8 (without regard to subsection (g)), and sections 103, 119, 

9 134, 148, and 149 of such title, $50,000,000,000, of 

10 which $99,000,000 shall be for Indian reservation roads 

11 under section 204 of such title; $250,000,000 shall be for 

12 park roads and parkways under section 204 of such title; 

13 $20,000,000 shall be for highway surface transportation 

14 and technology training under section 140(b) of such title; 

15 and $20,000,000 shall be for disadvantaged business en16 terprises bonding assistance under section 332(e) of title 

17 49, United States Code: Provided, That the amount set 

18 aside from this appropriation pursuant to section 1106 of 

19 this Act shall not be more than 0.2 percent of the funds 

20 made available under this heading instead of the percent21 age specified in such section: Provided further, That, after 

22 making the set-asides authorized by the previous provisos, 

23 the funds made available under this heading shall be dis24 tributed among the States. 


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1 FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION

2 TRANSIT CAPITAL ASSISTANCE

3 For transit capital assistance grants, 

4 $6,000,000,000, of which $5,400,000,000 shall be for 

5 grants under section 5307 of title 49, United States Code 

6 and shall be apportioned in accordance with section 5336 

7 of such title (other than subsections (i)(1) and (j)) but 

8 may not be combined or commingled with any other funds 

9 apportioned under such section 5336, and of which 

10 $600,000,000 shall be for grants under section 5311 of 

11 such title and shall be apportioned in accordance with such 

12 section 5311 but may not be combined or commingled with 

13 any other funds apportioned under that section: Provided, 

14 That of the funds provided for section 5311 under this 

15 heading, 3 percent shall be made available for section 

16 5311(c)(1): Provided further, That applicable chapter 53 

17 requirements shall apply except that the Federal share of 

18 the costs for which a grant is made under this heading 

19 shall be, at the option of the recipient, up to 100 percent: 

20 Provided further, In lieu of the requirements of section 

21 1103 of this Act, funds made available under this heading 

22 shall be apportioned not later than 7 days after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act: Provided further, That for pur24 poses of applying section 1104 of this Act to this appro25 priation, the deadline for grantees to enter into obligations 


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1 to make use of not less than 80 percent of the funds 

2 awarded shall be 180 days after apportionment: Provided 

3 further, That the provisions of section 1101(b) of Public 

4 Law 109–59 shall apply to funds made available under 

5 this heading: Provided further, That notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law, of the funds apportioned in accord7 ance with section 5336, up to three-quarters of 1 percent 

8 shall be available for administrative expenses and program 

9 management oversight and of the funds apportioned in ac10 cordance with section 5311, up to one-half of 1 percent 

11 shall be available for administrative expenses and program 

12 management oversight and both amounts shall remain 

13 available for obligation until September 30, 2011: Pro14 vided further, That the preceding proviso shall apply in 

15 lieu of the provisions in section 1106 of this Act. 

16 FIXED GUIDEWAY INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

17 For an amount for capital expenditures authorized 

18 under section 5309(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

19 $2,000,000,000: Provided, That the Secretary of Trans20 portation shall apportion funds under this heading pursu21 ant to the formula set forth in section 5337 of title 49, 

22 United States Code: Provided further, That the funds ap23 propriated under this heading shall not be commingled 

24 with funds available under the Formula and Bus Grants 

25 account: Provided further, In lieu of the requirements of 


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1 section 1103 of this Act, funds made available under this 

2 heading shall be apportioned not later than 7 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act: Provided further, That 

4 for purposes of applying section 1104 of this Act to this 

5 appropriation, the deadline for grantees to enter into obli6 gations to make use of not less than 80 percent of the 

7 funds awarded shall be 180 days after apportionment: 

8 Provided further, That applicable chapter 53 requirements 

9 shall apply except that the Federal share of the costs for 

10 which a grant is made under this heading shall be, at the 

11 option of the recipient, up to 100 percent: Provided fur12 ther, That the provisions of section 1101(b) of Public Law 

13 109–59 shall apply to funds made available under this 

14 heading: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other 

15 provision of law, up to 1 percent of the funds under this 

16 heading shall be available for administrative expenses and 

17 program management oversight and shall remain available 

18 for obligation until September 30, 2012: Provided further, 

19 That the preceding proviso shall apply in lieu of the provi20 sions in section 1106 of this Act. 

21 CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS

22 For an additional amount for ‘‘Capital Investment 

23 Grants’’, as authorized under section 5338(c)(4) of title 

24 49, United States Code, and allocated under section 

25 5309(m)(2)(A) of such title, to enable the Secretary of 


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1 Transportation to make discretionary grants as authorized 

2 by section 5309(d) and (e) of such title, $1,000,000,000: 

3 Provided, That such amount shall be allocated without re4 gard to the limitation under section 5309(m)(2)(A)(i): 

5 Provided further, That in selecting projects to be funded, 

6 priority shall be given to projects that are currently in con7 struction or are able to award contracts based on bids 

8 within 120 days of enactment of this Act: Provided further, 

9 That for purposes of applying section 1104 of this Act 

10 to this appropriation, the deadline for grantees to enter 

11 into contracts or other binding commitments to make use 

12 of not less than 80 percent of the funds awarded shall 

13 be 120 days after award: Provided further, That the provi14 sions of section 1101(b) of Public Law 109–59 shall apply 

15 to funds made available under this heading: Provided fur16 ther, That applicable chapter 53 requirements shall apply, 

17 except that notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

18 up to 1 percent of the funds under this heading shall be 

19 available for administrative expenses and program man20 agement oversight and shall remain available for obliga21 tion until September 30, 2012: Provided further, That the 

22 preceding proviso shall apply in lieu of the provisions in 

23 section 1106 of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle B—General Provisions 

2 SEC. 3201. CEILING ON TOTAL COST. 

3 Any funds appropriated in this title shall be available 

4 for obligation or expenditure only to the extent that such 

5 obligation or expenditure will not cause the total amount 

6 of obligations or expenditures under this title to exceed 

7 $50,000,000,000. 

8 DIVISION B—TAX PROVISIONS 

9 SEC. 1000. SHORT TITLE, ETC. 

10 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This division may be cited as the 

11 ‘‘American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009’’. 

12 (b) REFERENCE.—Except as otherwise expressly pro13 vided, whenever in this division an amendment or repeal 

14 is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 

15 a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid16 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the In17 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 

18 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

19 this division is as follows: 

Sec. 1000. Short title, etc. 

TITLE I—ADDITIONAL TAX RELIEF FOR FAMILIES WITH 

CHILDREN 

Sec. 1001. Increase in earned income tax credit. 

Sec. 1002. Increase of refundable portion of child credit. 

TITLE II—TAX INCENTIVES FOR BUSINESS 

Subtitle A—Temporary Investment Incentives 

Sec. 2100. Special allowance for certain property acquired during 2009. 

Sec. 2101. Extension of increase in limitation on expensing of certain depreciable business assets. 


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Subtitle B—Incentives for New Jobs 

Sec. 2201. Incentives to hire unemployed veterans and disconnected youth. 

Subtitle C—Repeal of Withholding Tax on Government Contractors 

Sec. 2301. Repeal of withholding tax on Government contractors. 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 3001. Ceiling on total cost. 

1 TITLE I—ADDITIONAL TAX RE2 LIEF FOR FAMILIES WITH 

3 CHILDREN 

4 SEC. 1001. INCREASE IN EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 32 is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new para7 graph: 

8 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR 2009 AND 2010.—In 

9 the case of any taxable year beginning in 2009 or 

10 2010— 

11 ‘‘(A) INCREASED CREDIT PERCENTAGE

12 FOR 3 OR MORE QUALIFYING CHILDREN.—In 

13 the case of a taxpayer with 3 or more qualifying 

14 children, the credit percentage is 45 percent. 

15 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF MARRIAGE PEN16 ALTY.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The dollar amount 

18 in effect under paragraph (2)(B) shall be 

19 $5,000. 

20 ‘‘(ii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In 

21 the case of any taxable year beginning in 


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1 2010, the $5,000 amount in clause (i) 

2 shall be increased by an amount equal to— 

3 ‘‘(I) such dollar amount, multi4 plied by 

5 ‘‘(II) the cost of living adjust6 ment determined under section 1(f)(3) 

7 for the calendar year in which the tax8 able year begins determined by sub9 stituting ‘calendar year 2008’ for ‘cal10 endar year 1992’ in subparagraph (B) 

11 thereof. 

12 ‘‘(iii) ROUNDING.—Subparagraph (A) 

13 of subsection (j)(2) shall apply after taking 

14 into account any increase under clause 

15 (ii).’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

18 December 31, 2008. 

19 SEC. 1002. INCREASE OF REFUNDABLE PORTION OF CHILD 

20 CREDIT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 24(d) is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR 2009 AND 2010.—Not24 withstanding paragraph (3), in the case of any tax25 able year beginning in 2009 or 2010, the dollar 


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1 amount in effect for such taxable year under para2 graph (1)(B)(i) shall be zero.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

5 December 31, 2008. 

6 TITLE II—TAX INCENTIVES FOR 

7 BUSINESS 

8 Subtitle A—Temporary Investment 

9 Incentives 

10 SEC. 2100. SPECIAL ALLOWANCE FOR CERTAIN PROPERTY 

11 ACQUIRED DURING 2009. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (k) of section 168 is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2009’’ each place 

15 it appears in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and in16 serting ‘‘January 1, 2010’’, and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2010’’ in paragraph 

18 (2)(A)(iv) and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2011’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (1) Section 168(k)(4)(D) is amended by redes21 ignating clauses (i) and (ii) as clauses (iii) and (iv) 

22 and by inserting before clause (iii) (as so redesig23 nated) the following new clauses: 


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1 ‘‘(i) ‘January 1, 2009’ shall be sub2 stituted for ‘January 1, 2010’ each place it 

3 appears, 

4 ‘‘(ii) ‘January 1, 2010’ shall be sub5 stituted for ‘January 1, 2011’ in para6 graph (2)(A)(iv),’’. 

7 (2) Section 168(l)(5) is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘January 1, 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

9 2010’’. 

10 (3) Section 1400L(b)(2)(D) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘January 1, 2010’’ and inserting ‘‘January 

12 1, 2011’’. 

13 (4) Section 1400N(d)(3) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘January 1, 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 

15 2010’’. 

16 (5) The heading for subsection (k) of section 

17 168 is amended by striking ‘‘JANUARY 1, 2009’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘JANUARY 1, 2010’’. 

19 (6) The heading for clause (ii) of section 

20 168(k)(2)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘PRE-JANUARY

21 1, 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘PRE-JANUARY 1, 2010’’. 

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 

24 December 31, 2008, in taxable years ending after such 

25 date. 


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1 SEC. 2101. EXTENSION OF INCREASE IN LIMITATION ON EX2 PENSING OF CERTAIN DEPRECIABLE BUSI3 NESS ASSETS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 179(b) 

5 is amended by inserting ‘‘or 2009’’ after ‘‘2008’’ in the 

6 text and heading thereof. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

9 December 31, 2008. 

10 Subtitle B—Incentives for New 

11 Jobs 

12 SEC. 2201. INCENTIVES TO HIRE UNEMPLOYED VETERANS 

13 AND DISCONNECTED YOUTH. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 51 is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following new para16 graph: 

17 ‘‘(14) CREDIT ALLOWED FOR UNEMPLOYED

18 VETERANS AND DISCONNECTED YOUTH HIRED IN

19 2009 OR 2010.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any unemployed vet21 eran or disconnected youth who begins work for 

22 the employer during 2009 or 2010 shall be 

23 treated as a member of a targeted group for 

24 purposes of this subpart. 

25 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

26 paragraph— 


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1 ‘‘(i) UNEMPLOYED VETERAN.—The 

2 term ‘unemployed veteran’ means any vet3 eran (as defined in paragraph (3)(B), de4 termined without regard to clause (ii) 

5 thereof) who is certified by the designated 

6 local agency as— 

7 ‘‘(I) having been discharged or 

8 released from active duty in the 

9 Armed Forces during 2008, 2009, or 

10 2010, and 

11 ‘‘(II) being in receipt of unem12 ployment compensation under State or 

13 Federal law for not less than 4 weeks 

14 during the 1-year period ending on 

15 the hiring date. 

16 ‘‘(ii) DISCONNECTED YOUTH.—The 

17 term ‘disconnected youth’ means any indi18 vidual who is certified by the designated 

19 local agency— 

20 ‘‘(I) as having attained age 16 

21 but not age 25 on the hiring date, 

22 ‘‘(II) as not regularly attending 

23 any secondary, technical, or post-sec24 ondary school during the 6-month pe25 riod preceding the hiring date, 


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1 ‘‘(III) as not regularly employed 

2 during such 6-month period, and 

3 ‘‘(IV) as not readily employable 

4 by reason of lacking a sufficient num5 ber of basic skills.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply to individuals who begin work for 

8 the employer after December 31, 2008. 

9 Subtitle C—Repeal of Withholding 

10 Tax on Government Contractors 

11 SEC. 2301. REPEAL OF WITHHOLDING TAX ON GOVERN12 MENT CONTRACTORS. 

13 Section 3402 is amended by striking subsection (t). 

14 TITLE III—GENERAL 

15 PROVISIONS 

16 SEC. 3001. CEILING ON TOTAL COST. 

17 The Secretary of the Treasury shall adjust the tax 

18 benefits provided pursuant to this division so that the ag19 gregate amount of such benefits does not exceed 

20 $100,000,000,000. 

Æ 


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