SPOTLIGHT: What the Economic Stimulus Plan means for enterprise IT

Today is a pivotal day for the recovery of the U.S. economy and the future of domestic technology. Later this afternoon in Denver, President Barack Obama will sign into law the $787 billion stimulus bill recently approved by Congress.

FierceCIO [1] has been covering the development of this bill closely, and noting its many implications for enterprise IT. Finally we have a finished product to pour over; here is a PDF of the final bill [2]. The bill contains hundreds of provisions and totals 1,073 pages. Fortunately, the Wall Street Journal compiled a complete rundown of how much money is being spent on each initiative [3].

Remember that many tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft and GE, helped craft the bill, so it's no surprise that many government funds will soon be flowing to the private sector. Funds have been slated for

• Improved technology infrastructure: The bill includes $7.2 billion to help deploy broadband in rural and other unserved areas and $11 billion to update the nation's electricity grid by hooking it up to the Internet.
• Projects that will improve U.S. competitiveness in IT: It is hoped that technology infrastructure updates and the many new tax credit advantages for businesses will make the United States a preferred nation for doing business.
• Alternative energy research and development: The plan invests a whopping $37.5 billion in energy--that means those in the construction, automotive and green-energy industries could benefit from the bill.
• Health information technology and digital health records: The package will dedicate $19 billion to the development and adoption of electronic medical records. The technology associated with this initiative will likely be crafted in the private sector.

If you're still curious how the spending associated with the recovery bill will be divided up, remember Obama's promise of a transparent government. The hope is spending will be outlined in a detailed way as plans get underway.

For more on the Economic Stimulus Plan see our continuous coverage. [4]