Ready to recover?

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on Tuesday and if you've watched, listened to, or read any news this week you've probably heard a lot about it.

But what is it really all about and what does it mean for you? At 400+ pages, reading the thing is probably not an attractive option, (although you can do so here if you've got the spare time or the curiousity) but fortunately some folks have made understanding it a bit easier.

USA.gov, the major portal to U.S. government information online, provides this summary of the Act's aims, along with a timely warning against fraudulent offers of "stimulus" money, and links to both background information and more details.

The good bloggers at GovGab (from the General Services Administration) posted this link-filled highlight reel a few days ago. They focus on some of the middle-class tax-relief provisions of the legislation. One of the main links they recommend is recovery.gov, a new website set up to answer questions and keep the public informed as to how the Act is working. Be sure to check out the site's FAQ. And the site gives you opportunities to react and interact with the process. Check back with this site often, since their clever moving timeline will be filling up with more information as the Act's provisions are implemented.

If you do decide to look at the text of the Act, UT Arlington librarian Tom Lindsey has made it a lot easier to zero in on the right section with this handy blog post. He lists all the sections and the pages upon which page in the PDF version of the Act each starts.