Last month, President Obama signed the historic $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The legislation has been called the largest economic stimulus package since the Great Depression. With the legislation now signed into law,  federal agencies are working to  devise regulations to implement the bill's various provisions, including new grant programs, contracting regulations, regulatory standards, tax regulations and related agency actions. Many of these measures will be implemented very quickly, so advance planning will be critical  to private industry and business .

On Wednesday, March 11, Arent Fox LLP will be hosting a discussion on the stimulus package, the Obama administration's proposed budget and how private industry may pursue the funding made available by the Act at the federal, state and local levels of government.  The event will be held the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, and will feature presentations and remarks by US Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Senior Brookings Fellow Alice M. Rivlin, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton Administration and first director of the Congressional Budget Office, and members of Arent Fox's Government Relations Department.