Creating and Saving Jobs, Boosting Household Resources,
Providing Assistance for the Vulnerable Around the Country
On February 13, 2009, the Senate approved the final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and sent the legislation to President Obama to be signed into law (P.L. 111-5). The Recovery Act is an extraordinary response by Democrats to an inherited economic crisis unlike any since the Great Depression. The legislation represents an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create and save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can not only recover but prosper once again.
Nationwide, we have already seen companies rehiring laid-off workers, construction and renovation of facilities, and the re-starting of environmental remediation activities. And, just a few months into the two-year Recovery Act programs:
· We have minimized and avoided reductions in essential services by providing aid to stabilize state and local budgets, protect critical safety-net programs, and save teaching and law enforcement jobs.
· Plans for job-creating infrastructure projects are already planned and underway with millions of dollars in Department of Transportation allocations through the FHWA, FTA, and FAA. These Recovery Act projects deliver jobs and make important investments in the safety our transportation systems. [DOT Allocation Report, 6/2/2009].
· Families and communities that have been hard-hit by the recession can access increased unemployment benefits, assistance with health insurance premiums for those who have become unemployed, and food assistance. And approximately 95 percent of all families and individuals have already begun seeing an increase in their take-home pay through the landmark Making Work Pay tax credit. The typical family will have about $800 extra cash delivered to them in their paychecks over the next year. [The White House, 4/2/2009]
Click below for a sampling of local projects that have been covered in the media and press releases in the past several weeks, demonstrating the real-life impacts that the Recovery Act has had in your state, only four months after the enactment of the Recovery Act:
