On February 13, 2009, both the House and Senate passed the conference version of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Subsequently, the ARRA was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009 (P.L. 111-5). The primary purposes of the ARRA focus on promoting economic recovery, assisting those most affected by the recession, improving economic efficiency by "spurring technological advances in science and health," investing in infrastructure, and stabilizing state and local government budgets. The House had previously passed its version of H.R.