April 9, 2009

Sens. Carper & Kaufman Detail $625 Million In Recovery Funding For Delaware

Senators release "Guide to Funds" outlining how Delawareans can apply for federal funds

NEWARK, Del. – At a press conference this morning, and in a comprehensive 45-page guide on their websites, Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman (both D-Del.) showed how Delaware has and will continue to benefit from new federal dollars coming into the state from the economic recovery package.

To date, the Obama-Biden Administration and Sens. Carper and Kaufman have announced more than $625 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for Delaware through a mix of formula funding, discretionary awards and tax credits.

New federal assistance helps Delawareans with everything from health care and veteran services to education and clean energy alternatives. And, more money is already showing up in paychecks for 95 percent of Delaware families who qualified for a federal income tax cut.

Today, the two U.S. senators released a comprehensive “Guide to Funds,” which is designed to lay out what funds are available to communities, organizations, individuals and businesses across Delaware, and how best to compete for the maximum federal dollars.

The guide includes funding options by subjects, such as education or energy, and also includes the 11 most notable federal competitive grant opportunities under which Delawareans can directly compete.

Hard copies of this comprehensive guide are available from the two senators’ state and Washington offices, and an electronic version is posted on their websites, carper.senate.gov and kaufman.senate.gov.

Today’s press conference was held at the Park n Ride on Route 896 also to announce $200,000 in recovery funds to upgrade this Newark facility to be ADA compliant. The senators stressed that the project is yet another example of how infrastructure improvement projects increase transportation options, create jobs and improve services for Delawareans who need them most.

“This economic recovery package is made-to-order for a small state like Delaware where we can move quickly to help our residents best compete for this new federal funding,” said Sen. Carper. “Working closely with the Obama-Biden Administration and the Governor’s office, we have already announced more than 10 specific major funding sources for Delaware. There is still much more money coming over the next two years and we will continue to make sure Delaware communities receive critical assistance in this time of great economic need.”