Government Grants for All

Small Business Government Contracts: Myths and Facts

You’ve probably heard so frequently already that there are small business government contractsthat one could benefit from. You’ve either received this piece of information from governmentconsultants or fellow small business owners. However, of all these knowing, you’re still sittingthere and have done nothing.
Why is this?
For their belief that they are not some business mammoth for the government to have timefor them, several establishments don’t mind the probabilities in securing small enterprisegovernment contracts. When compared with Fortune 500 companies, these organizations feelthey’re so small. To them, it’ll be a waste for the government to cater their demands- they’ve thisfeeling of being very tiny in the industry that they are not worth the government’s attention.
Or, these entities think that small business government contracts are impossible to land onbecause they don’t have numerous staff – and no one is focused on making contracts for thegovernment.

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So let’s get straight to the point. It won’t be possible for you to land on small businessgovernment contracts in case you believe on of the aforementioned myths. You need a bit morepiece of information though.
The government has allocated 39% of the expenses to small companies. For your information,regular government spending spiked as much as .3 trillion lately. Aside from makingthe government the largest customer from this bit of information, they also has the highestpurchasing power.
small business government contracts
If you’re worried that the Big Boys of Wall Street will take away your business, then be happy toknow that they can’t by any means affect this part of government spending. The explanation forthis is this 39% that is solely for small business. Therefore, this means that there’s an allocatedpercentage for big players, and there is another percentage for small-scale business. If this bit ofinformation doesn’t keep you on high spirits, then who knows what will?
The facts
In 2008, small enterprises received only 29% of the total allocation for government spendingbecause many didn’t grab the chance. Somehow several businesses made it possible to landon a few remarkable small company contracts. But in 2010, the count of entities register to a
whopping 19,658 – every one of them averaging contracts worth a lot more than ,000.
With all of these pieces of information presented, don’t you need to be one of the over 19,000businesses who have grabbed the chance? Well, the most apparent answer is YES. It can bethe best business decision you will ever make. After all, you will be working with the greatestcustomer in the world: the government.

Tags: Business, Contracts, Facts, Government, Myths, Small

Government Contracts: Small Business Opportunities

The U.S. Federal Government is spending billions of dollars on various products and services. Sometimes we get overwhelmed just by thinking that the government is a large institution that it will not buy from small businesses and companies. The government transacts with anybody. Small business government contracts have been issued for years, the only problem small businesses don’t usually take advantage of the opportunity. As long as you meet the requirements, there is no problem whatsoever that a government contract may not be awarded to you and your company.
The recent economic breakdown has pushed the government to issue and award contracts. This year, the federal government has set aside 39% of the allocation of more than 500 billion dollars to small business contractors. The amount is close to 200 billion dollars. And it’s all for small businesses and companies. Larger companies can’t compete because these funds are allocated separately for small corporations. If 200 billion dollars isn’t much then the government has also released more than 700 billion dollars in stimulus fund.
That is a lot of money going around the economy, 200 billion dollars plus the stimulus package, if we take the opportunity and attempt at going for a small business government contract it may not be a bad idea. The opportunity is there, wasting it would not be prudent.
In 2008, small business government contracts were only granted 21% of the budget. Small business aren’t aware that these allocations are set aside especially for small companies. The big boys get a different slice of the pie. Some are afraid that we may be competing with Fortune 500 companies if we go into government contracting. The government has put these safeguards to improve investment balance between small companies and large companies with thousands of thousands of manpower.
Last year though, it seems small companies have been active in government contracts with about 20,000 businesses received their first contracts of over ,000. It could be the effects of the recession because honestly, the only institution with money to spend right now is the federal government. In a crisis or out of one, the government has set aside funds that only cater to small businesses and we should always take advantage of that. This could be one of the positive effects of the recession, it has given small businesses the opportunity and the confidence that it can supply the government with the goods and services it needs. The federal government is keen on keeping these small business government contracts with or without recession.

Find More Government Grants Small Business Articles

Tags: Business, Contracts, Government, Opportunities, Small

Federal Contracting for Startup Businesses – Can a small business or startup business be considered for federal contracts?

Federal Contracting Is Possible for Startup Businesses

Federal Contracting is possible for startups. I know that might seem amazing and hard to believe that a startup company can win federal contracting opportunities, but it is true. The US Federal Government has government contracts set aside specifically for small business and looking for ways to fill their federal contracting demands. A start up business can fill that demand if they can meet certain requirements, but before we get into federal contracting requirements for startups, let’s talk about some general requirements that a business must meet before pursuing a contracting opportunities. Yes, it takes effort but wouldn’t it be worth it to have the largest customer in the World come to you for products and services? So, let’s begin.

General Business Setup Requirements
• Although you may be a startup, you must have substantial customer references. If your business doesn’t have any business references, do you personally have any professional references that you can used to represent the work you will do in your new company.
• You need to have financial records that show that you have the ability to meet the demands of the business. If you don’t have the business funds, you will need to show them you are personally financially stable to support your business.

Federal Contracting Requirements
• Aside from becoming a federal contractor, you must also be prepared to participate in the government marketing and communication process. Federal Contracting is not something that happens by taking one step. In fact when you take the right steps in the right order you will find that the process of winning federal contracting opportunities is very simple.
• You will also need to review your business to make sure that you meet all the federal, state, and local requirements to run your business so make sure that is in order before you look at federal contracting. Below are a few area to check first:

First, is your business registered with the state in which you do business in? In most states you need to register your business with the Secretary of State.
Secondly, is your business registered with your local revenue office? You will need to make sure you have a license to have a business in the county in which you live. This is very important to establishing and maintaining the legitimacy of your business.
Thirdly, does your business have a tax id? You will need to register your business with the IRS and receive an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Federal Contracting for Startups – Summarize it please
OK, so I am going to give you a single piece of advice regarding federal contracting for startups and here it is “customer references”. Don’t get nervous and say as a startup how can I have a customer references because you have them put not in the way you think. If you have started a business that is an extension of your professional experiences then you do have references. You do have someone who can speak on your behalf regarding the service you provide. Hopefully you didn’t just start your business and hang out your shingle and hope customer would come, it would stand to reason that you built some type of network that you could leverage to kick-start your business. Assuming you have this professional network in place you will need to go to it and harvest the relationships to create a profile that you can use to market to your government customer.

So if you take away one thing from this article know that federal contracting for startups is possible, but you need a sound business with a customer base that will be a strong reference base!

Tags: Business, Businesses, Considered, Contracting, Contracts, Federal, Small, Startup

Go forth without fraud: companies planning to compete for homeland security funds through government grants and contracts must first make sure they have … An article from: Security Management Reviews

Go forth without fraud: companies planning to compete for homeland security funds through government grants and contracts must first make sure they ... An article from: Security Management

This digital document is an article from Security Management, published by American Society for Industrial Security on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 2431 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Go forth without fraud: companies planning to compete for homeland sec

List Price: $ 5.95 Price: $ 5.95

Tags: Article, Companies, Compete, Contracts, First, forth, Fraud, From, Funds, Government, Grants, Homeland', Management, Must, Planning, Reviews, Security, Sure, They, Through, without

Financial Accounting for Construction Contracts

A contract is a big job requiring considerable length of time to complete and comprising activities to be done outside the factory promises, viz. construction of a dam or school building, laying down railway lines, etc. Special financial and management accounting is required to maintain the records of construction contracts. Since each contract involves considerable resources both in terms of men and materials, it is necessary to devise an appropriate accounting system to ascertain the cost and profit made on each contract separately.

Profit on incomplete contracts:
At the end of an accounting period it may be found that certain contract have been completed while others are still in process and will be completed in the coming years. The total profits made on completed contract say be safely taken to the credit of the profit and loss account. But the same cannot be done in case of incomplete contracts.

These contracts are still in process, and there are possibilities of profits being turned into to losses on account of heavy rise in prices of materials and labor and losses on account of other unforeseen contingencies. At the same time it does not also seem desire able to consider the profits only on completed contracts and ignore completely incomplete ones because this may result in heavy fluctuations in the figure of profit from year to year. A year in which a large number of contracts have been completed will show an abnormal high figure for profit while reserve may be the case in the year in which a large number of contracts remain incomplete. Therefore, profits on incomplete contracts should be considered, of course, after providing adequate sums for meeting unknown contingencies.

There are no hard and fast rules for the calculation of the figures for profit to be taken to the credit of profit and loss account. However, the following rules may be followed:

(a) Profit should be considered in respect of work certified only, work uncertified should always be valued at cost.

(b) No profit should be taken into consideration if the amount of work certified is less than 1/4 of the contract price because in such cases it is not possible to foresee the future clearly.

(c) If the amount of work certified is 1/4 or more but less than1/2 of the contract price, 1/3 of the profit disclosed, as reduced but the percentage of cash received from the contractee, should be taken to the profit and loss account. The balance should be allowed to remain as a reserve.

(d) If the amount of work certified is very much near completion, if possible the total cost of completing the contract should be estimated The estimated total profit on the contract then can be calculated by deducting the total estimated cost from the contract price. The profit and loss should be credited with that proportion of total estimated profit on cash basis, which the work certified bears to the total contract price.

(f) The whole of loss, if any, should be transferred to the profit and loss account.

Cost Plus Contracts:
In certain contracts the contractee agrees to pay to the contractor the cost price (usually prime cost) of the work done on the contract plus an agreed percentage thereof by way of overhead expenses and profit. Such contracts are known as cost-plus contracts. The system of cost plus contract costing is employed in cases where it is very difficult for the contractor to quote the contract price because there has been no precedent which he may take as basis. It is also employed where the work to be done is not fixed at the time of placing order for the contract. The method is generally used where government happens to be the contractee. The method suffers from the
following disadvantages

There is no incentive to the contractor to eliminate waste and economies the cost of completing the contract. On the other hand, he is tempted to increase the cost because greater the cost, the greater will be his share of profit. In case of this system the amount of overheads recovered and profit made depends upon the value of materials used, which is subject to considerable price fluctuations. The agreed fixed percentage may, therefore, prove to be either too excessive or too low for covering overheads and profit.

Escalation Clause:
Escalation clause is usually provided in the contract as a safeguard against any likely changes in the prices of utilization of material and labor. The clause provides that in case prices of items of raw materials, labor, etc. specified in the contract, change during the execution of the contract, beyond a specified limit over the price prevailing at the time of signing the agreement, the contract price will be suitably adjusted. The term of the contract specify the procedure for calculating such adjustment in order to avoid all future disputes. Thus, such a clause safeguards the interests of both the contractor and contractee in case of fluctuations in the price of materials and labor, etc.

Work in Progress:
At the end of the accounting period a contract may still be in progress. The term work in progress refers to the work done so for in respect of the contract, which is still incomplete. It consists of the following:

(1) Working Certified:
It refers to the work approved by the contractee. In case of contracts it is the useful practice for the contractor to get the work approved from time to time from the contractee. This is helpful to the contractor in two ways; first in case the contractee finds the work not up to specifications, he may ask the contractor to take corrective actions in time.

Second, in contract accounts it is useful practice to have a system of progress payments, i.e., the contract agrees to pay a certain percentage of the work certified (say, 80 or 90 percent). This is advantageous to the contractor since he gets immediate liquid funds.

(2) Work Uncertified: It refers to the work which has been done by the contractor but not so far approved by the contracted.

Work certified generally includes some profit element also while work uncertified is always valued at cost to the contractor.

Sub Contracts:
The contractor may entrust some portion of the work to be done under the contract to a sub-contractor. Usually work of a specialized nature, i.e., steel work, special flooring, etc., is done by sub-contractors, who are responsible to the main contractor. The cost of such sub-contracts is a direct charge against the contract for which the work has been done. Special financial and management accounting is required to maintain the records of construction contracts.

Tags: Accounting, Construction, Contracts, Financial

US firms set for postwar contracts

The American government is on the verge of awarding construction contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Iraq once Saddam Hussein is deposed.

Halliburton, one of the companies in the running for the deals, was headed by the US vice-president Dick Cheney between 1995 and 2000. Halliburton has already been awarded a lucrative contract, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to resurrect the Iraqi oilfields if there is a war.

Other companies have strong ties to the US administration, including the construction giant Bechtel, the Fluor Corporation, and the Louis Berger Group, which is presently involved in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Both Bechtel and the Fluor Corporation undertake construction and project management work for the US government.

Only US companies are on the shortlist of five. The US agency for international development (USAID) defended the narrow shortlist.

A spokeswoman said: “Because of the urgent circumstances and the unique nature of this work, USAID will undertake a limited selection process that expedites the review and selection of contractors for these projects.”

The spokeswoman said that it was a policy of USAID to use US companies for projects funded by the American taxpayer. Non-US companies were free, through their governments, to organise their own business, she said.

The winning company would get about $900m (£563m) to repair Iraqi health services, ports, airports, schools and other educational institutions.

Sources at the companies said the invitation was unusual in that USAID did not ask them to set a price for defined services but rather asked them to say what they could do for $900m. However, the winning company could expect to make a profit of about $80m from the deal.

All five bidders have submitted their proposals or are preparing to do so after USAID “quietly” sent out a detailed request soliciting proposals from the likely bidders.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Iraq reconstruction plan will require contractors to fulfil various tasks, including reopening at least half of the “economically important roads and bridges” – about 1,500 miles of roadway – within 18 months.

The contractors will also be asked to repair 15% of Iraq’s high-voltage electricity grid, renovate several thousand schools and deliver 550 emergency generators within two months.

Construction industry executives said the handful of firms are competing fiercely in part because they believe it could provide an inside track to postwar business opportunities. The most highly sought-after prizes are oil industry contracts.

The US government is believed to be wary of any backlash against an invasion and is preparing plans for a “hearts and minds” operation that will swing into place as soon as the country is occupied. The government is mindful of the longterm benefits of feeding hungry Iraqis, delivering clean water, and paying teachers and health workers.

“It’s a sensitive topic because we still haven’t gone to war,” one industry executive told the Wall Street Journal. “But these companies are really in a position to win something out of this geopolitical situation.”

It remains unclear whether Iraqis, Americans or an international consortium will manage the oil industry during an early post-conflict period.

Steven Schooner, a George Washington University law professor, said many billions of dollars are at stake. He estimated that $900m would barely last six months given the scope of the projects the administration has sketched out.

“The most sophisticated firms that come in first, and establish good will with the locals obviously will reap huge benefits down the road,” said Mr Schooner.

“These are going to become brand names in Iraq. That’s huge.”

Tags: Contracts, Firms, postwar

Green Government Contracts Beginning To Roll Out

With the passage of the stimulus bill in early 2009, much money was allocated to the renewable energy market. The bill staggered funding to support the following successive objectives:

1)Encourage adoption of current technology through efficient energy tax credits.

2)Support innovation through research and development incentives.

3)Encourage training and support of “green collar” jobs through education.

4)Adopt sustainability practices and clean energy solutions in the federal government and grant money to state and local governments for adoption incentives.

The initial stimulus objectives have already begun rolling out. Tax credits for the purchase of solar panels, energy efficient windows, and the replacement of inefficient appliances and HVAC systems helped this industry take less of a hit amidst the last recession. Research and development for renewable energy solutions is at an all time high thanks to this package, despite the typical logic where R&D is a focus only when existing sources of energy become too expensive. So called “green collar jobs” are the new buzz word, in industries like construction, engineering, and architectural services. General contractors and building renovators are speaking green lexicon with retrofitting services like sustainability upgrades and efficient energy audits.

All of these incentives promoted by the federal government were designed to create the perfect storm of research, adoption, and training to nurture a new green energy industry, designed to spur economic growth, technological competitiveness, and better energy security. The long term goal is to sustain growth ahead in a world with dwindling and more sought-after non-renewable resources.

The final stage of stimulus funding begins to roll out at the end of 2010 for implementing green technologies and efficient energy solutions for use across all sectors of public purchasing in federal, state, and local government agencies. The funding of renewable energy government contracts fall into two primary sectors: (1) analysis and consulting for existing infrastructure, and (2) products and services to build new infrastructure.

Comprehensive energy audits and environmental consulting are among the most common RFPs that are opening. At the moment there are active RFPs for state departments and municipalities in California, Colorado, New York, Texas, and more. These requests for proposals include carbon analyses, environmental planning, and consulting services.

Ultimately, the greatest beneficiary of Federal stimulus funding—through training incentives, grants, or government purchasing—are government contracts for the products themselves. Photo voltaic and solar panels, wind turbines, and geo-thermal energy bids are being released daily from state and local governments nationwide. These bids do not end at the installation of solar and PV panels on top of the local City Hall; rather, state and local governments are purchasing contracts for school zone and traffic sign flasher assemblies powered by solar panels, solar-powered water heaters for public buildings, renewable charging systems, and electric/non carbon-emitting vehicles and fleet services.

The stimulus bill’s aim was not solely to spend money to pull the country out of a recession. The goal was to support the new and emerging green technology industry from the ground up, where federal, state, and local governments could lead by example in adopting these practices. In addition to spurring research and development and job training, an overhaul of government energy consumption would save energy and costs in the long term, while finally introducing these products into the mainstream.

Tags: Beginning, Contracts, Government, Green, Roll

Green Government Contracts Beginning To Roll Out

With the passage of the stimulus bill in early 2009, much money was allocated to the renewable energy market. The bill staggered funding to support the following successive objectives:

1)Encourage adoption of current technology through efficient energy tax credits.

2)Support innovation through research and development incentives.

3)Encourage training and support of “green collar” jobs through education.

4)Adopt sustainability practices and clean energy solutions in the federal government and grant money to state and local governments for adoption incentives.

The initial stimulus objectives have already begun rolling out. Tax credits for the purchase of solar panels, energy efficient windows, and the replacement of inefficient appliances and HVAC systems helped this industry take less of a hit amidst the last recession. Research and development for renewable energy solutions is at an all time high thanks to this package, despite the typical logic where R&D is a focus only when existing sources of energy become too expensive. So called “green collar jobs” are the new buzz word, in industries like construction, engineering, and architectural services. General contractors and building renovators are speaking green lexicon with retrofitting services like sustainability upgrades and efficient energy audits.

All of these incentives promoted by the federal government were designed to create the perfect storm of research, adoption, and training to nurture a new green energy industry, designed to spur economic growth, technological competitiveness, and better energy security. The long term goal is to sustain growth ahead in a world with dwindling and more sought-after non-renewable resources.

The final stage of stimulus funding begins to roll out at the end of 2010 for implementing green technologies and efficient energy solutions for use across all sectors of public purchasing in federal, state, and local government agencies. The funding of renewable energy government contracts fall into two primary sectors: (1) analysis and consulting for existing infrastructure, and (2) products and services to build new infrastructure.

Comprehensive energy audits and environmental consulting are among the most common RFPs that are opening. At the moment there are active RFPs for state departments and municipalities in California, Colorado, New York, Texas, and more. These requests for proposals include carbon analyses, environmental planning, and consulting services.

Ultimately, the greatest beneficiary of Federal stimulus funding—through training incentives, grants, or government purchasing—are government contracts for the products themselves. Photo voltaic and solar panels, wind turbines, and geo-thermal energy bids are being released daily from state and local governments nationwide. These bids do not end at the installation of solar and PV panels on top of the local City Hall; rather, state and local governments are purchasing contracts for school zone and traffic sign flasher assemblies powered by solar panels, solar-powered water heaters for public buildings, renewable charging systems, and electric/non carbon-emitting vehicles and fleet services.

The stimulus bill’s aim was not solely to spend money to pull the country out of a recession. The goal was to support the new and emerging green technology industry from the ground up, where federal, state, and local governments could lead by example in adopting these practices. In addition to spurring research and development and job training, an overhaul of government energy consumption would save energy and costs in the long term, while finally introducing these products into the mainstream.

Tags: Beginning, Contracts, Government, Green, Roll

UK Needs This Refreshing Approach to It Contracts

It’s a bit late in the day, but I detect signs of a refreshing change in the way the labor government chucks money at computer systems. For the first time in at least a generation, a cabinet minister last month said that officials who place IT contracts should bear in mind the wider consequences for British industry. John Denham, who was skills secretary before last week’s political Götterdämmerung, said that in future, government IT contractors will have to show they are improving the skills of British workers.

In pretty well any other industrial country such a statement would be unremarkable. Almost everywhere, governments push the limits of procurement laws to ensure major contracts are let in ways that suit local policy objectives. The US reserves a proportion of federal government business for small firms, and Japanese governments are notorious for making it inconvenient for foreign firms to bid.

Since the 1980s, at least, the UK government has been unique among major economies in its enthusiasm for opening government contracts to all comers. Up to a point, such openness is commendable. Even laying aside wider arguments for free trade, it is far from evident that the UK computer industry would now be a world-beater had we preserved ICL as national purveyor of taxpayer-funded mainframes. The defence industry, where procurements are inseparable from wider political concerns, does not set a particularly inspiring example.

However, openness can be taken too far. The NHS in England took such a step six years ago, when it parceled up the major implementation work of the National Program for IT in £1bn chunks – deliberately to encourage bids from overseas. This was a public-policy scandal. It dealt a near-fatal blow to the British healthcare informatics industry, which in some areas was a world leader. It also set back the modernization of hospital systems, as inexperienced multinationals struggled to understand the NHS and its software requirements.

A similar tendency is evident in the national ID card program. Whatever you think of the program, it seems extraordinary UK taxpayers are funding such an attempt to push technological boundaries in a way that pays little attention to ensuring UK companies reap the benefit. Meanwhile, our willingness to place parts of the critical national infrastructure under foreign ownership causes jaws to drop elsewhere.

So, following Denham’s announcement, one of the last to emerge from the short-lived Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, what has changed? In procurement policy, not much: the only commitment was: “Wherever possible, government spending should not just provide good public services, it should also ensure young people are trained in the skills we need for the future.”

On the surface, that’s not much of a change. In fact, as some commentators pointed out, a training requirement could even deepen the government’s love affair with multinationals at the expense of small firms, who rarely have resources to spare for training.

I think it’s more significant than that. Denham, who was at the Department of Communities and Local Government when this paper went to press, has identified a growing sense of public anger about the way the government allocates its IT spending. Once the principle has been conceded that government IT contracts should be about more than the organization in question getting the best deal, almost anything becomes possible. The look and feel of the modern government machine is very much the look and feel of its information infrastructure. It’s time to explore new ways of buying and operating that infrastructure.

Tags: Approach, Contracts, Needs, Refreshing, This

Green Government Contracts Beginning To Roll Out

With the passage of the stimulus bill in early 2009, much money was allocated to the renewable energy market. The bill staggered funding to support the following successive objectives:

1)Encourage adoption of current technology through efficient energy tax credits.

2)Support innovation through research and development incentives.

3)Encourage training and support of “green collar” jobs through education.

4)Adopt sustainability practices and clean energy solutions in the federal government and grant money to state and local governments for adoption incentives.

The initial stimulus objectives have already begun rolling out. Tax credits for the purchase of solar panels, energy efficient windows, and the replacement of inefficient appliances and HVAC systems helped this industry take less of a hit amidst the last recession. Research and development for renewable energy solutions is at an all time high thanks to this package, despite the typical logic where R&D is a focus only when existing sources of energy become too expensive. So called “green collar jobs” are the new buzz word, in industries like construction, engineering, and architectural services. General contractors and building renovators are speaking green lexicon with retrofitting services like sustainability upgrades and efficient energy audits.

All of these incentives promoted by the federal government were designed to create the perfect storm of research, adoption, and training to nurture a new green energy industry, designed to spur economic growth, technological competitiveness, and better energy security. The long term goal is to sustain growth ahead in a world with dwindling and more sought-after non-renewable resources.

The final stage of stimulus funding begins to roll out at the end of 2010 for implementing green technologies and efficient energy solutions for use across all sectors of public purchasing in federal, state, and local government agencies. The funding of renewable energy government contracts fall into two primary sectors: (1) analysis and consulting for existing infrastructure, and (2) products and services to build new infrastructure.

Comprehensive energy audits and environmental consulting are among the most common RFPs that are opening. At the moment there are active RFPs for state departments and municipalities in California, Colorado, New York, Texas, and more. These requests for proposals include carbon analyses, environmental planning, and consulting services.

Ultimately, the greatest beneficiary of Federal stimulus funding—through training incentives, grants, or government purchasing—are government contracts for the products themselves. Photo voltaic and solar panels, wind turbines, and geo-thermal energy bids are being released daily from state and local governments nationwide. These bids do not end at the installation of solar and PV panels on top of the local City Hall; rather, state and local governments are purchasing contracts for school zone and traffic sign flasher assemblies powered by solar panels, solar-powered water heaters for public buildings, renewable charging systems, and electric/non carbon-emitting vehicles and fleet services.

The stimulus bill’s aim was not solely to spend money to pull the country out of a recession. The goal was to support the new and emerging green technology industry from the ground up, where federal, state, and local governments could lead by example in adopting these practices. In addition to spurring research and development and job training, an overhaul of government energy consumption would save energy and costs in the long term, while finally introducing these products into the mainstream.

Tags: Beginning, Contracts, Government, Green, Roll