American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, most commonly referred to as the stimulus bill or stimulus package, was a spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress in 2009. It was one of the early things Barack Obama did as president. Despite Obama trying to get Republicans as well as Democrats to vote for the bill, only three did. The bill did several things:

• It gave more money to unemployed people (people with no jobs) for longer.
• It cut taxes for workers, students, and the middle class
• It gave more money to Medicaid
• It gave money to improve roads and bridges in the U.S.
• It gave millions of dollars to various government agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts

It has taken awhile for the stimulus money to be used. Vice-President Joe Biden is one of the people in charge of making sure the money is used right.