The U.S. Department of Transportation pushed the level of its payouts from the 2009 economic stimulus package to $24.56 billion through December 24, of the $48 billion authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The figures, listed on the Obama administration's Recovery.gov Web site, show the DOT reimbursed states nearly $1 billion in the first three weeks of December for transportation project work they had completed. (More from JOC.com . . . )