By Eric Bradner, Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS - After a summer of preparations, Indiana officials are ready to spend the winter making a major push to obtain grant funds available through the federal economic stimulus package.
They hope to use the money to bolster the Interstate 69 extension, aid cash-strapped school districts and more.
Indiana already has received much of the $4.7 billion initially set aside in the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Now, officials hope to augment that initial amount with extra money awarded on a competitive basis.
From nearly $200 million for I-69 to hundreds of millions more for education, state agencies are seeking some of the largest grants.
"We pay a lot of attention to this stuff," said Mitch Roob, Indiana's secretary of commerce and head of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which is helping some agencies and companies apply for grants.
Gov. Mitch Daniels has been lukewarm to the federal stimulus package and has said repeatedly he's not sure if it has created or sustained jobs or done much else to turn the economy around. But he did say Indiana would match the spirit of the effort, putting money to work quickly on one-time projects.
Here's a look at some of the grants Indiana agencies are seeking.
Transportation
The I-69 extension from Evansville to Indianapolis could get a boost if the Indiana Department of Transportation is successful in obtaining the $195 million it is seeking for the project.
However, the state is facing tough competition. The Department of Transportation says it has received about $57 billion in applications for the $1.5 billion program called Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, more commonly known as "TIGER."
Indiana has set aside $700 million that state officials say will cover the first half of the I-69 project. The TIGER grant money could help the funds the state already has stretch further.
"I view this project as critical to the state and country," Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Evansville, said in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The Department of Transportation is expected to reach out to potential grant recipients in December to verify they can satisfy the conditions the funding requires, then announce the grants in January.
Competition will be similarly fierce for $8 billion to go to high-speed rail projects. Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo said there are 45 applicants totaling $50 billion for major corridor programs, and 214 more applications totaling $7 billion for planning purposes.
Among the major projects is a $2.8 billion request from INDOT to build a high-speed rail system that would cross northern Indiana en route from Chicago to Cleveland.
"Due to the overwhelming response and our desire to lay the groundwork for a truly national high-speed and intercity passenger rail program, we will be announcing all awards this winter," Szabo said in a statement.
Education
Indiana schools chief Tony Bennett has his eyes on a piece of the Department of Education's $4.4 billion in Race to the Top funds.
Cam Savage, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Education, said the state is working with school corporations to decide what would be funded if Indiana receives any of that money.
He said the goal would be to fund "initiatives that move the needle in terms of student performance" by addressing four issues: Recruiting and keeping good teachers; adopting rigorous standards; turning around low-performing schools; and building data systems to track student achievement and teacher effectiveness.
Like the race for transportation dollars, competition for Race to the Top money will be tight. Savage said some states will be knocked out of the running right away.
Federal officials don't want to consider states that stand in the way of reform, such as those that cap the number of charter schools or prohibit the use of student performance data to evaluate teachers, he said.
Indiana is awaiting word on what its application should entail, but Savage said the state will be one of the first to apply. He said federal officials have signaled that about 15 states will receive the Race to the Top money.
Green energy
Officials within the Daniels' administration were upset earlier this year when it took months longer than expected for the Department of Energy to greenlight a weatherization program Indiana had proposed.
Roob said that likely was because the Energy Department was not a grant-making agency before the stimulus. He said it was understandable the department would have to put systems and processes in place.
He said that has been done, "and we've found that the Department of Energy has been very responsive and moved very quickly."
Meanwhile, Roob said Indiana is primed to become a leader in green energy.
President Barack Obama visited Elkhart County this summer to announce the Department of Transportation's decision to award $418 million in grants to several Indiana businesses. The state ranked second behind Michigan.
Health
A coalition of five Indiana companies and four state agencies is seeking $10.3 million in grants to set up a statewide health information technology program.
"Indiana is home to the strongest health IT sector anywhere in the United States today, so it makes perfect sense for us to continue pioneering this effort," said David Johnson, the top executive for BioCrossroads, which is one of the companies.
Indiana already has received a $1.3 million grant to help the state map areas where broadband Internet availability is low.