BUSINESS, FINANCE, POLITICS—AND THE LAW
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1. GET IN THE GAME
The government is not going to come to you.
- 2. PREPARE TO NAVIGATE
This funding is being funneled through a maze of agencies and programs, all with their own set of operating procedures. - 3. STAND OUT...
In some areas, funding requests will outstrip available funding by 10 to 1. - 4. ... BUT NOT TOO MUCH
Avoid controversial projects that lack broad community support. - 5. MAKE WORK
Show how your proposal will create or save jobs. - 6. HAVE FRIENDS
It can only help to have your congressional delegation advocating on
your behalf. - 7. PICK A PARTNER
The government will try to satisfy as many constituencies as it can. A partnership, say, between a software company and a local government, might have an edge.
- 8. DOT YOUR I'S & CROSS YOUR T'S
With so many applicants, it will be easy for administrators to disqualify those who don’t meet requirements precisely.9. SPEND FAST
Stimulus money is meant to be spent quickly. A project that takes years to ramp up won’t be a good candidate. - 10. BE ACCOUNTABLE
If you don’t comply with the plan’s strict reporting requirements, you may see funding cut off
In the Winter issue of Capital Thinking, Jude Kearney, a Patton Boggs partner, took a bullish look at the U.S. government’s determination to reverse the economic downturn that had embroiled both the nation and the world. “The government in effect is saying that it’s okay for people to stick their heads out and start investing again in some projects,” he said. Echoing that sentiment, and looking toward a stimulus package that had then been proposed but not yet passed, Patton Boggs partner Robert Brams noted that “the infusion of funding and its impact will be extraordinary.” Moreover, added Robert Tompkins, also a partner at Patton Boggs, “you’ll see a higher degree of interest from companies that have not done government contract work before or are shifting from commercial to government work.”
A month later, the stimulus package had been passed and we were well into development of the Spring/Summer issue. The logical focus: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But where to start? Within days of the act’s passage, the news media was flooded with prognostications and Patton Boggs itself had already posted a 121-page document, aptly titled “No Small Change,” which explored the package’s every nook and cranny. Breaking new ground on this topic was a challenge. But Patton Boggs partner Ed Newberry set the direction when he noted that the real impact of this act would only begin to be felt once the money was allocated, the projects were underway, and the targeted groups and industries were transformed. So that’s our focus, evident on every page of this issue: the transformation of industries, of business, of opportunity—for both America and the world. Will it work? We’re betting on it.
MIKE WINKLEMAN, Editorial Director
Companies can profit from the stimulus, but only if they hew carefully to the rules. Only months after receiving a $10 billion emergency loan as part of the federal government’s bailout of troubled banks, Goldman Sachs is scrambling to give it back. Why? 
The stimulus Is more than an economic booster shot. It’s funding many companies that are aiming for transformative change. An aging power grid pushed beyond capacity. An incoherent health care system stuck on life support.
[Currency] Keeping up on the global economy. The stimulus plan brings Native Americans back to the future. When will venture capital return? With stimulus money comes scrutiny.
[Capital Thoughts] Michael Richman finds lessons in the automakers’ ordeal. Jack Blumenstein describes a public-private partnership. John Schryber explains why insurance companies don’t always have the last word.
[Q&A: T. Boone Pickens] Last summer this Texas oil and gas tycoon made a splash with his ambitious plan for ending America’s oil addiction. Here he explains what he tells investors—and why.
