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Can the “stimulus plan” (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) help you pay for metal construction projects?

While it is still too early to provide a complete analysis of the content of the 1,100+-page “stimulus plan” President Obama signed into law on February 17, we can offer an overview.

Infrastructure Improvement Funding

The bill includes appropriations for a number of categories. In the lead-up to passage, the Senate version of the bill contained specific language requiring the allocation of funding for infrastructure-specific projects in many of these categories. In the final bill, as passed and signed into law, much of the specific language of the Senate version was dropped, and funding categories are much broader in scope.

The following is a list of funding categories that may be (but generally do not have to be) applied to infrastructure improvements:

One caution: As of this writing, much of the final legislative language has not been made available to the public. However, the various congressional committees have provided detailed summaries of the sections of the bill on which they were working. By compiling and analyzing these committee summaries, along with data gathered from other sources, we can offer some insights into the bill’s overall character and even some of its details.

• $1.2 billion for VA hospital and medical facility construction and improvements
• $3.1 billion for repair, restoration and improvement of public facilities at/on public and tribal lands
• $4.2 billion for facilities sustainment, restoration and modernization — to be used to invest in energy efficiency projects and to improve the repair and modernization of Department of Defense facilities to include Defense Health facilities
• $2.3 billion for Department of Defense facilities, including quality of life and family-friendly military improvement projects such as family housing, hospitals, and child care centers
• $250 million for energy retrofitting and green investments in HUD-assisted housing projects
• $4 billion to the public housing capital fund to enable local public housing agencies to address capital needs, especially those improving energy efficiency in aging buildings
• $39 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund that will go to local school districts using existing funding formulas (meaning funds can be used for anything from preventing program cutbacks and staff layoffs to school modernization and construction, library enrichment or other purposes)
• $8.8 billion to states for high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include modernization, renovation and repairs of public school and (apparently) both public and private higher education facilities, or other government institutions
• $4.5 billion for repair of federal buildings to increase energy efficiency using green technology
• $5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program (a federally funded, state administered program for helping low-income families weatherize their homes)

Energy Efficient and Sustainable, Metals Qualify for Funding

Metal construction materials offer sustainability, energy efficiency, longevity, high recycled content and high recyclability, and they generally meet LEED green building requirements. If you are considering a project that falls into any of the funding categories listed above, you may be able to apply for funding from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act to cover the metal construction materials you plan to use.

Buying American

There is a “Buy American” provision in the bill that prohibits funds from being used for constructing, altering, maintaining or repairing a pubic building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States.

Exceptions are allowed in cases where the federal department or agency finds that application of the provision would be inconsistent with the public interest, or that the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the U.S. in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality or that the goods produced in the U.S. will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent. The section is to be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements.