Economic Stimulus Bill Offers Opportunities For VARs

A U.S. House committee is finally attaching specific dollar figures to the massive economic stimulus bill known as the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." And from spending for health-care IT to building wireless and broadband networks to upgrading school classrooms, the legislation could offer big opportunities for solution providers.

The House Appropriations Committee issued its recommendations Thursday for the stimulus bill. As currently proposed, the legislation carries an $825-billion price tag, including $550 billion in new spending for developing alternative energy technology, rebuilding roads and bridges, providing aid to struggling state governments and local school districts, and overhauling the nation's health-care IT infrastructure.

The balance of the bill is composed of $275 billion in tax cuts and credits, including more favorable capital equipment depreciation provisions. That could provide a boost for IT spending: The package doubles the amount that small businesses can immediately write off for capital investments and purchasing new equipment.

The bill calls for spending $20 billion on new health-care information technology, such as electronic medical records, for improving the efficiency of delivering health-care services and cutting costs. Most studies show that only a small percentage of hospitals and physician offices have adopted such technology.

"There's a huge, huge potential there," said Jack Smyth, president and CEO of Spring Medical Systems, a developer of electronic health record applications. "The money Obama has earmarked for electronic health records will be a boon for our industry." About 80 percent of Spring Medical Systems' sales are made through channel partners.

The appropriations committee also recommended $6 billion in grants for building out broadband and wireless networks in geographic areas that lack access to broadband networks.

Other line items in the bill may indirectly benefit solution providers. They include $4 billion for renewable energy research, for example, and $6.7 billion for making federal government buildings more energy efficient. Also proposed is $30 billion for improving highway infrastructure and $9 billion for transit systems. Such spending could stimulate business for solution providers who sell IT equipment and services to construction companies and contractors.

Solution providers also will likely play a major role in projects generated by the proposed $20 billion for modernizing school classrooms, including providing new computers and installing networks, and $1 billion for building computer and science labs.