Federal stimulus timeline

A look at key dates and events in the federal economic stimulus bill.

April 2
Groundbreaking held for state's first stimulus-funded transportation project, the widening of U.S. 158 in Camden County.

Feb. 24
Gov. Bev Perdue announce a list 70 highway projects she will fund with federal stimulus funds.

Feb. 23
The nation's governors went to Washington, D.C., to hear from the president how he plans to distribute, coordinate and track stimulus funds.

Feb. 20
Governor Bev Perdue says she expects to have to cut deeper into the North Carolina state budget because stimulus money won't fill the shortfall.

Feb. 20
In meeting with mayors, Obama warns that his administration will track how cities spend stimulus funds.

• Durham mayor meets with Obama on stimulus

Feb. 19
The federal stimulus will give millions of dollars to help the North Carolina Employment Security Commission meet record demand for benefits, commissioners said Thursday.

Feb. 17
President Barack Obama signs into law a $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

Feb. 16
Gov. Beverly Perdue says she is disappointed in the bill because she was hoping for more federal money to help bolster the state’s Medicaid program. Second District Congressman Bob Etheridge was pleased with the $553 million that will go toward school construction statewide.

Feb. 14
Second District Congressman Bob Etheridge said the $787 billion economic stimulus bill will create or save 105,000 jobs in the state.

Feb. 13
The federal stimulus bill passed the U.S. House, with Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., one of only seven Democratic lawmakers to vote against it. The Senate passed the measure that night. North Carolina is expected to receive $6.1 billion from the $787 billion federal stimulus package, with the biggest chunk - about $2.35 billion through 2011, according to preliminary figures compiled before the bill passed Congress.

Feb. 11
Democratic-controlled Congress and White House agree on a compromise $790 billion economic stimulus bill.

Feb. 9
The U.S. Senate’s version of the stimulus bill cuts $40 billion from aid for state governments, leaving North Carolina lawmakers, who were expecting an estimated $16 billion, in a state of limbo.

Feb. 2
Durham Mayor Bill Bell says the city has more than $95 million in infrastructure projects ready to begin if the city can get money from the federal stimulus package. Bell said the projects could create up to 600 jobs in Durham.

Jan. 14
Gov. Beverly Perdue urges North Carolina's congressional delegation and members of President-elect Barack Obama's incoming administration to earmark funds for the state in a proposed national stimulus package.

Jan. 1
Second District Congressmen Bob Etheridge tells hundreds of Cumberland County residents during a meal at the Crown Coliseum Exposition Center that the stimulus package is their first priority in the new year.

*All information is based on public record, WRAL News and AP reports.