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OFFICIALS: TOO SOON TO TELL WHAT STIMULUS MEANS FOR PB

By Amy Riggin/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 10:52 PM CST

Though estimates for Arkansas’ slice of the $787-billion stimulus pie range from $2.1 billion to $4.65 billion, the official word from Gov. Mike Beebe’s office Tuesday afternoon was that there was no official word.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a massive $787 billion package to revive the economy, saying the measure represented the “essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time.”

And while legislators — both at the national and state level — and the governor are eager to get the exact figures, they’re playing the waiting game for now.

Stacey Hall, deputy spokesman for Beebe, said Tuesday afternoon that the governor doesn’t know the exact figure that Arkansas will receive, and doesn’t know when he will get it.

“The timeline will depend on how the federal government proceeds with the rules and regulations in disseminating information to us,” Hall said. “We will keep close contact with them during that process.”

U.S. Reps. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, Marion Berry, D-Gillett, and Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, voted for the bill. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, voted against it. U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., voted for the bill.

Pryor issued a statement Tuesday saying that Arkansas will benefit greatly.

“President Obama’s signature on this economic recovery package comes amid new layoff and bankruptcy announcements throughout Arkansas,” Pryor said. “We now have additional tools to lift up families and businesses who are struggling in today’s ailing economy. I’m optimistic this package of tax cuts and job-creating investments will help stop the bleeding and provide a path toward economic recovery.”

The Obama administration, Pryor said, expects the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, including 31,000 jobs in Arkansas. Ninety percent of the jobs created will be in the private sector.

According to Ross, 7,300 of the 31,000 jobs created in Arkansas will be in the 4th Congressional District, which Ross represents. The district includes Pine Bluff and Southeast Arkansas.

State legislators and the governor will be largely responsible for determining how to spend the money when it is received, a spokesman for Ross’ office said Tuesday.

State Sen. Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV, D-Pine Bluff, is a member of the Joint Budget Committee.

“I’m excited about really seeing exactly what the benefits are going to be for Arkansas and specifically for Southeast Arkansas and Pine Bluff,” he said. “So I can assure you I’m going to be very involved in those discussions to make sure, as those funds come down from Washington, D.C., that Pine Bluff, Southeast Arkansas and the Delta get an adequate amount of those moneys — really to help where the greatest need is in Arkansas right now, which is Southeast Arkansas.”

Wilkins said senate District 5, which he represents, has “tremendous highway needs.”

“The top highway construction project for my district is University Drive,” he said.

The Arkansas State Highway & Transportation Department, Wilkins said, lacks funding to complete the widening of the roadway.

State Sen. Jerry Taylor, D-Pine Bluff, also said highway and road projects are high on his agenda, although he said he was “not a big fan of the stimulus plan” in the first place. He said he doesn’t want the money to go to “a bunch of give-away programs,” but wants tangible, lasting infrastructure projects completed instead.

“It’s something that’s going to be hard to pay back,” he said, adding, “My number one priority would be to overlay I-530 from Little Rock to Pine Bluff.”

Taylor represents senate District 23.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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