American Recovery and Reinvestment Act v.2

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law on February 17, 2009. The primary goal of the $787 billion package is to stimulate the economy in the short term and invest in education and other essential public services to ensure the long-term economic health of our nation.  

ARRA provides approximately $100 billion for education, including increases of $17.1 billion in the Pell grant program and $200 million in work study funding, and a $53.6 billion appropriation for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program.  Of that amount, the U. S. Department of Education (USDE) awarded governors approximately $48.6 billion via formula to advance essential education reforms to benefit students. The Texas portion of the SFSF is almost $4 billion, with $3.2 billion allocated to the Education Services Fund and $723 million to the Government Services Fund (GSF).[1]

Stimulus Funding Accountability and Transparency

ARRA funds are tracked and made available to the public through these websites:

• RECOVERY.GOV Announcements
• Window on State Government – American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Accountability

Upon application for and receipt of ARRA funding, the Principal Investigator (PI) and the University accept all terms and conditions related to ARRA monies, as well as the comprehensive reporting requirements.

 Texas Woman’s University may receive ARRA funding by one of the following entities:

1. Direct from a Federal Agency
2. Pass -Through from a Texas Agency
3. Pass-Through from a Texas Institution of Higher Education
4. Pass-Through from a Non-State Entity

Regardless the method of ARRA funding, grant proposals must be submitted to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) before seeking ARRA funding.  ORSP thoroughly reviews grant proposals to ensure that Federal and State Regulations and Grantor guidelines are being met as well as reviewing the detailed budget for unallowable costs, personnel costs, and matching/cost sharing requirements before submission. Grant proposals submitted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization Funds are submitted by the Office of Finance and Administration.  ARRA funding to support Federal Student Aid is reviewed by the Office of Financial Aid.

Funding source 331 – Federal ARRA is assigned on Oracle Financials (Phoenix) to identify Recovery Act funded accounts at Texas Woman’s University.

ff.331.ee.dddd.oooo.gggggggg

f- fund                                                                                                           d-department

331-Federal ARRA –funding source                                                            o-object

e-element of cost                                                                                           g-grant project

 

Reporting

Office of the Controller, Grant Accounting completes the required award/expenditure reports. Grant Accounting is responsible for completing four separate reports. Each report has policies, time tables, and requirements governed by the corresponding agencies.

FederalReporting.gov

• General Information and Reporting Website
• Quarterly Reports are due 10^th of the month following the end of each quarter.
  • Quarter 1: January 1-March March 31 due April 10
  • Quarter 2:  April 1 – June 30 due July 10
  • Quarter 3:  July 1 – September 30 due October 10
  • Quarter 4:  October 1 – December 31 due January 10

Texas Legislative Budgeting Board

• ARRA Quarterly Expenditure Reporting  Instructions
• ARRA Expenditure Reporting Site
• General Information about LBB quarterly ARRA reports
• Quarterly Reports are due 15^th of the month following the end of each federal quarter.
  • Quarter 1:  October 1 –December 31 .i.e.  2010 1^st Qtr. due January 15;
  • Quarter 2:  January 1 – March 31 .i.e. 2010 2^nd Qtr. due April 15
  • Quarter 3:  April 1 – June 30 .i.e. 2010 3^rd Qtr. due July 15
  • Quarter 4:  July 1 – September 30 .i.e. 2010 4^th Qtr. due October 15.

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

• Reporting Website
• Weekly ARRA activity reports are due each Friday.  ARRA policies and procedures for the State of Texas including State Agencies and State Institution
• ARRA Section 1512 and SEFA Reconciliation

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

• Reporting Website
• Monthly Reimbursement of ARRA Expenditures due on the 5^th of every month. Applications, policies, and procedures for reporting can be found at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board ARRA website

Other Involved Agencies

• Department of Education – G5.gov Draw downs
• Department of health and Human Services - Division of Payment Management PMS Draw Downs
• National Science Foundation – Fast Lane Financial Functions Draw downs