INPUT expects President-elect Obama's economic stimulus package to provide billions of dollars in contract opportunities to government contractors over the next several years. The package, which is likely to approach $1 trillion in spending over the next two years, is expected to have significant funding for infrastructure, health IT and green initiatives to generate jobs, all of which rely heavily on government contractors to implement.

According to The Washington Post, the preliminary plan has three buckets of money:

• Funds to States for Health Care – at least $100 billion
• Tax Cuts – at least $140 billion
• Infrastructure, eHealth and Green Initiatives – $350 billion

The area presenting the most significant opportunities for contractors is the final bucket. What form could these investments take?

• Dramatic increase in spending with the Army Corps of Engineers to accelerate construction projects
• Grants to state and local governments to support infrastructure improvements, funds to increase technology and modernization of schools
• Funding for GSA and agencies managing their own buildings to implement green initiatives
• Funding to health care providers to accelerate adoption of electronic medical records

The success of the economic stimulus package depends upon the government's ability to spend this money quickly. To accomplish that, the government will have to rely extensively on contractors.

INPUT will provide additional research and insight on the economic stimulus plan as it gets formalized in legislation, but contractors should be thinking now about how they position themselves for these opportunities when they emerge.