White House to issue progress report on anniversary of economic stimulus

The White House is releasing its first annual report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Wednesday, summarizing its progress on the first anniversary of President Obama's signing of the massive, politically contentious economic stimulus package.

Independent arbiters such as the Congressional Budget Office agree that it helped end the recession and added several percentage points to GDP growth, and that it created or saved at least 2 million jobs. But with job losses far deeper in 2009 than the administration expected, the stimulus has not kept unemployment from climbing to 10 percent. Republicans have seized on job-creation tallies reported by stimulus recipients, questioning their reliability. At the same time, Republicans who voted against the bill, as well as Democrats, have touted stimulus spending in their districts.

The package was divided into three main categories:

1) Tax cuts (including $800 for both 2009 and 2010 for most families).

2) Payments, including fiscal aid to states and expanded safety net assistance (such as unemployment benefits, COBRA subsidies and food stamps).

3) Investments in, for example, public infrastructure, energy efficiency upgrades and broadband access.