January 29, 2009 - the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, by a 244-188 vote divided largely along party lines. H.R. 1 provides $819 billion in spending and tax cuts.

Specifically, H.R. 1 provides:

1) $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities, distributed through existing state and federal formulas; $15 billion in incentive grants to states as a reward for meeting key education performance measures; and $25 billion to states for other high-priority needs, such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education;

2) $15.6 billion for Pell grants, which will increase the maximum by $500 in the 2009-2010 academic year and by $500 in the 2010-2011 academic year;

3) $6 billion to improve and modernize higher-education facilities; and

4) $750 million for a new program of competitive grants for worker training, of which $500 million is designated for projects to prepare workers for careers in energy and renewable industries.

The House now waits for the Senate to complete action on its version of the stimulus. Senate leaders are working to bring the bill to the floor next week.

The details of the House bill can be found here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:H.R.1:

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