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Back from the Brink: The Recovery Act One Year Later

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which invests $787 billion over two years to bring the U.S. economy back from the brink of collapse. The Recovery Act is credited with halting the economic freefall that hit Pennsylvania and the nation in the fall of 2008, retaining jobs and providing a foundation for future growth.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of that law, the Keystone Research Center, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and our partners recently hosted a conference in Harrisburg examining how the federal Economic Recovery Act has been implemented in Pennsylvania and the impact those investments are having on the Pennsylvania economy. We wish to say thank you to everyone who helped organize that event and to those of you who attended or watched it on PCN.

Senator Robert P. Casey Jr.
Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. delivers the keynote address

This web page is your one-stop shop for all materials, video clips, photos and other resources from the January 15th conference, "Back From the Brink: The Recovery Act One Year Later." In addition, the Keystone Research Center will use this page to provide additional resources on Recovery Act implementation in Pennsylvania, the role recovery projects are playing in moving the state toward economic recovery, and lessons that can be learned going forward. We will present policy ideas for creating new jobs and investing in the future. Check back later.

DGS Secretary and Chief ARRA Implementation Office James Creedon
Department of General Services Secretary James Creedon, who is the Recovery Act's Chief Implementation Officer in Pennsylvania, addresses the conference.

 

 

Below are resources on the Recovery Act that were provided at the conference. Click here for an overview of the conference (including additional photos). Click here to view video clips from the conference. Click here to read the Keystone Research Center's paper, "Pennsylvania Needs a State Main Street Jobs Act of 2010."

Note: We will update this site in the coming days and weeks with additional summaries of the conference's six workshop sessions and other resources.

The Keystone Research Center and Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center would also like to thank our conference co-sponsors: 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania; American Rivers; Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture); Community Legal Services, Inc.; Pennsylvania AFL-CIO; The Education Policy and Leadership Center; The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania; and United Way of Pennsylvania.
 


Deputy Secretary of General Services Peter Speaks addresses a workshop session on community impact and regional equity.

Conference Packet

Overview of Conference

Keynote Address

Plenary Sessions

Plenary Session 1: The Impact of the Recovery Act on Jobs and the Economy

Plenary Session 2: Putting Federal Dollars to Work—An Overview of the Recovery Act in PA

  • Video clip of Pennsylvania's Chief ARRA Implementation Officer James Creedon

Lunch Session: Is the Recovery Act Keeping People Out of Poverty? (Mike Leachman, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, & Kenneth Stephens, Legal Aid Society of New York)


Elizabeth Hersh of The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania leads a workshop on how the Recovery Act is impacting local government and housing.

Workshop Sessions

Smart Growth, Transportation, and Infrastructure

Moderator: Judy Schwank, 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
Panelists: Paul Marchetti, Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority; James Ritzman, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; Liz Garland, American Rivers; Kelly Lewis, Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania

Powerpoint Presentation

Transparency and Accountability

Moderator: Tony Ross, United Way of Pennsylvania
Panelists: Eileen McNulty, Pennsylvania Stimulus Oversight Commission; Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First; Barry Kauffman, Common Cause/Pennsylvania

Powerpoint Presentation

Local Governments and Housing

Moderator: Elizabeth Hersh, The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania
Panelists: George Klaus, USDA Rural Development; Lauren Giguere, City of Allentown

Powerpoint Presentation

Energy and Environment

Moderator: Ed Boito, Citizens For Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture)
Panelists: John Hanger, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; E. Craig Heim, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development; Russell McIntosh, Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc.


The conference conclude with a roundtable discussion on the lessons learned from the implementation of the Recovery Act in Pennsylvania and what the next steps are for Pennsylvania and U.S. jobs.

Education and Workforce

Moderator: Seth Green, Job Opportunity Investment Network
Panelists: Teresa Colarusso, Pennsylvania Department of Education; Scott Sheely, Lancaster Workforce Investment Board; Carol Austin, Philadelphia Youth Network

Powerpoint Presentation

Community Impact and Regional Equity

Moderator: Sharon Ward, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
Panelists: Peter Speaks, PA Department of General Services; Della Clark, The Enterprise Center; Bernadette Turner, Regional Equity Monitoring Project; Greg LeRoy, Good Jobs First

Powerpoint Presentation