www.heinfeldm eech.com /hm u hmu@ heinfeldmeech.com 1 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: A Snapshot Presented by: Tracy McLaughlin Kyle B. McQuaid
Dec 31, 2015
www.heinfeldmeech.com/hmu
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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: A Snapshot
Presented by:Tracy McLaughlinKyle B. McQuaid
ARRA Facts
• Signed into law on February 17, 2009
• Total Funding: $787B• Goals:
– Create jobs– Jumpstart economic growth– Provide direct tax relief
• Unprecedented accountability and transparency
ARRA Strategy
• Create or save 3.5 million jobs by providing direct tax relief
• Invest $150 billion in infrastructure projects
• Double renewable energy generating capacity over a three year period
• Provide funds to state and local governments to support health and educational programs
Ensuring Accountability and Transparency
• Funding for the “Watchdogs”• Governor Certifications• Quarterly Reporting
Ensuring Accountability and Transparency
Objectives for federal agencies:• ARRA funds awarded and distributed
in a prompt, fair, and reasonable manner
• Recipients and uses of all ARRA funds are transparent to the public
• ARRA funds are used for authorized purposes only
Ensuring Accountability and Transparency
• Funded projects must:– Avoid unnecessary delays and cost
overruns– Meet specific goals and targets, and
contribute to improved performance on broad economic indicators
– 50% of funds must be initiated no later than 120 days after date of enactment
ARRA Fund Limits
• ARRA funds may not be used for casinos or other gambling establishments, aquariums, zoos, golf courses, or swimming pools
• Buy-American: all construction materials (iron, steel, and manufactured goods) must be produced in the U.S.
• All wages cannot be lower than those prevailing on projects of a character similar in the locality
ARRA Recipients
• Any recipient that has received an award must report – It does not matter if you have not received or spent any funds
• Prime Recipient– Receives funds directly from a federal agency– Must ensure that their own and sub-recipient data
is accurate and complete– Perform data quality reviews for significant
reporting errors and/or omissions• Sub-Recipient
– Receives funds from a prime recipient– Must ensure that their own data is accurate and
complete– Perform data quality reviews for significant
reporting errors and/or omissions
ARRA Reporting
• Data Quality– Accurate, complete, and timely– Avoid:
• Material omissions (% of project completed, estimated number of jobs)
• Significant report errors (reported values show a decrease from a prior reporting period)
– Review process: Conduct a data quality review• Federal agency could terminate the
funding and/or initiation of suspension and debarment proceedings
ARRA Reporting Requirements
• Federal agency code• Program source (TAS)• DUNS number – should match DUNS number
on the award/contract• CFDA number• Final report• Award type, date, description, and amount• Project and Grant period start and end date• Project description and status• Jobs created/retained – description and
number• Federal expenditure• Total federal ARRA, federal non-ARRA and
non-federal share expenditures
ARRA Reporting Phases and Timeline
1. Draft: 1–10 days • Input reporting data
2. Initial Submission: 11-21 days• Review and make changes
3. Final submission: 22 – 29 days• Federal agency reviews &
comments
4. Publish: 30 days• Recipient reports available on
recovery.gov
ARRA Reporting: Jobs
• Jobs Created:– A new position created and filled or an
existing position that is filled as a result of ARRA funding
• Jobs Retained– An existing position that would not have
been continued to be filled had it not been for the ARRA funding
• A job cannot be counted as both• Indirect support (e.g., clerical/admin
staff) cannot be counted
ARRA Reporting: Jobs
• Must report all FTE created or retained– Total hours worked in jobs divided by the
number of hours in a full-time schedule• Reported in two separate fields
(number and description)• Recipients who do not perform their
own work must get job creation estimates from the entity performing the work
• Federal agencies must provide guidance for the required sampling parameters
ARRA Reporting: Jobs
• Reported cumulatively each quarter
Auditing ARRA• All ARRA programs are considered high
risk due to the inherent risk with the new transparency and accountability requirements
• Buy-American• Davis-Bacon Act
– Submission of weekly certified payrolls– Prevailing wage rate clauses included
• ARRA funds are accounted for separately on the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) and Data Collection Form (SF-SAC)– The prefix “ARRA-” must be included in
identifying the Federal program
Auditing ARRA
• Revenue should be coded to object 4500
– Allocation should be made to M&O, UCO & SCA based on normal state equalization distribution
Auditing ARRA-Req’d Program CodesRequired sub-program codes:• 199—Regular Education-SFSF• 261—English Language Learners Incremental Costs-
SFSF• 266—English Language Learners Compensatory
Instruction-SFSF• 271—Vocational and Technological Education-SFSF• 299—Special Education Other-SFSF (disability and
other categories)• 439—Pupil Transportation-English Language
Learners Compensatory Instruction-SFSF• 479—Pupil Transportation-Vocational and
Technological Education-SFSF• 499—Pupil Transportation Other-SFSF• 699—Other Instructional Programs-SFSF
Let’s review…
Question 1
If a previously nonexistent position of plant receptionist occurs as a result of ARRA funds, it is counted as a job created.
TRUE or FALSEWhy?
Support jobs are not counted as “Jobs Created/Retained”
Question 2
50% of funds must be initiated no later than 120 days after date of enactment
TRUE or FALSE
Federal agency reviews and comments occurs during the Initial Submission phase
TRUE or FALSE
Question 3
Federal agency can not terminate the funding and/or initiate suspension and debarment proceedings as repercussion if correct reporting procedures are not followed
TRUE or FALSE
They can!
Question 4
If a recipient has not spent any of the funds awarded to them, they are not required to report.
TRUE or FALSE
Any recipient that has been awarded must report
Question 5
Thank you for attending.
Presented by:Tracy McLaughlin
Kyle McQuaid
602-277-9449 ext. [email protected]
602-277-9449 ext. [email protected]
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