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Background on the President’s Event Today in Wisconsin

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The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
June 30, 2010

Background on the President’s Event Today in Wisconsin

The President will be greeted upon arrival at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by the following individuals:

Governor Jim Doyle
Jessica Doyle, First Lady of Wisconsin
Mayor Thomas Barrett, Milwaukee

TOWN HALL
Racine Memorial Hall

The President will hold a town hall meeting on the economy at Racine Memorial Hall in Racine, Wisconsin.   There will be approximately 1,300 people in the audience – 70% of the tickets were made available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis, the other 30% were distributed by the White House to elected officials, community leaders, etc.

PRE-PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

Bishop Darrell Hines will deliver the Invocation.
Bishop Darrell Hines and his wife, Pastor Pamela Hines, are the founders of the Christian Faith Fellowship Church of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Justine Boerger will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Justine Boerger will begin her senior year at Horlick High School in Racine, Wisconsin in the fall.

SSG Emily Russell of the Wisconsin National Guard will sing the National Anthem.

ELECTED OFFICIALS EXPECTED TO ATTEND

Governor Jim Doyle
Jessica Doyle, First Lady of Wisconsin
Mayor Thomas Barrett, Milwaukee
Mayor John Dickert, Racine
State Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers
Speaker Michael Sheridan
State Rep. Cory Mason
State Rep. Rob Turner
State Senator John Lehman

RECOVERY ACT IN WISCONSIN

Total Jobs & Spending

  • JOBS CREATED AND SAVED – CEA estimates that 59,000 jobs were created or saved by the Recovery Act in Wisconsin through March, 2010.
  • TOTAL SPENDING – More than $6.4 billion in Recovery funds has been made available to Wisconsin – and more than $4.1 billion has already been spent.

Investing in Infrastructure

  • CONSTRUCTION – 457 transportation projects have been obligated in Wisconsin, totaling more than $643 million.
  • SMALL BUSINESS – 2,356 Recovery Act-backed small business loans have been given to Wisconsin small businesses, supporting more than $931 million in lending.

Relief to Individuals

  • TAX RELIEF – Because of the Making Work Pay tax credit, 2.2 million Wisconsin working families will collectively receive $1.2 billion in tax relief.
  • UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS – More than 730,000 Wisconsin residents have expanded unemployment benefits because of the Recovery Act.
  • STIMULUS PAYMENTS – More than 1 million Wisconsin seniors, veterans and other high-need residents have received one-time economic relief payments of $250, totaling more than $254 million.

Helping States

  • TEACHERS – Close to 5,100 education positions were reported as funded by the Recovery Act in Q1 2010 in Wisconsin – which has received more than $876 million in State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF).
  • MEDICAID – The Recovery Act has already made more than $1.1 billion available to help prevent additional Medicaid cuts in Wisconsin.  The state of Wisconsin has spent more than $1 billion of the available funds.

RECOVERY ACT FUNDING IN RACINE

The city of Racine has received approximately $22.5 million in Recovery Act funding. Beyond that $22.5 million, an additional $30 million was provided to Racine County through the Department of Transportation for highway funding. Other Recovery Act highlights included below:

  • The Small Business Administration supported over $16 million in small business lending – 42 loans as of June 25.  Examples of Racine SBA guaranteed Loan recipients include Motovend, LLC, Inc (which received $72,000), and Bright Star Healthcare (which received $156,000).
  • The Department of Agriculture provided over $6 million to Johnson Outdoors Watercraft, Inc.
  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development provided over $1.3 million to the City of Racine
    • A grant of over $500,000 was provided for the City of Racine from HUD’s Community Development Fund
    • Over $800,000 was granted for Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing in the Racine Area
  • The City and County of Racine received over $1.2 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants.  Approximately $457,000 was provided for Racine County while nearly $800,000 was sent to the City of Racine
  • Law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin received over $12.1 million in funding to support 58 police officers’ salaries and benefits for three years from the Department of Justice. The city of Racine received over $813,000 to support three additional police officers.