William F. O'Brien
The Oklahoma Policy Institute is an organization based in Oklahoma City that’s stated mission is to “advance policies aimed at alleviating poverty, promote fiscal responsibility and expand economic opportunity” in Oklahoma. The institute also aims to transform Oklahoma into a state in which “the median income is above the national average, student test scores and college graduation rates exceed the national average.”
In furtherance of those goals, the institute conducts analysis of policy issues that impact the state. The institute recently has conducted an analysis of the financial impact to Oklahoma of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed into law by President Barack Obama last month. That analysis is found in a 17-page report on the institute’s Web site, www.okpolicy.org.
Citing research done by the Federal Funds Information For the States, the institutes report concludes that Oklahoma is projected to receive a total of $2.6 billion as a result of the passage of what has become known as “the Recovery Act.”
The vast majority of those funds, an estimated $2.2 billion, will come through five provisions of the act. They include $838 million in Medicaid matching funds for health care for Oklahomans in poverty, $578 million in aid to state government, $465 million in highway and bridge construction, and $157 million in aid to special education and $141 million in Kindergarten through 12th-grade education in Oklahoma. The remainder of those monies will be spent in areas that assist children, families, senior citizens and law enforcement in the state.
The report also notes that these funds come at a crucial time for the state, since Oklahoma is anticipating a budget shortfall this year. The monies that Oklahoma’s state government will receive is part of a $53.6 billion fund that is designed to ensure financial stability of state governments and to help them avoid both tax increases and the curtailment of governmental services.
The report estimates that Medicaid funding contained in the Recovery Act will increase the level of federal funding for Medicaid services in Oklahoma to $326.7 million in the next fiscal year and $488.8 million in the succeeding two years. Those funds will be allocated among the state agencies that operate Medicaid-related services, which include the Department of Human Services, the Health Care Authority, Department of Mental Health, Health Department, the Office of Juvenile Affairs and several other agencies.
And as Obama recently has pointed out, there also are mechanisms in place to ensure the monies are spent appropriately. The report prepared by the Oklahoma Policy Institute wisely advises that “Oklahoma should be developing its own structure and mechanism to ensure that the funds are spent efficiently and wisely, and to provide public access to information and data on the act’s implementation.”
The Recovery Act is said to have been inspired in part by the Works Progress Administration that was put in place by the administration of Franklin Roosevelt during the 1930s Depression. That entity became known by its initials “WPA” and was designed to jump start a moribund economy by stimulating economic activity throughout the nation. Many structures that were built under the auspices of the WPA still are visible in Oklahoma. They include National Guard armories throughout the state and buildings and sidewalks on Oklahoma universities and colleges that have the initials “WPA” inscribed on them.
The legacy of the Recovery Act in Oklahoma may be evident in the years to come in the form of improved highways and bridges and better health and education for the citizens of the state.
WILLIAM F. O’BRIEN is an Oklahoma City attorney.
