HOUSE PASSES STIMULUS BILL THAT AIMS TO CREATE 396,000 JOBS IN CALIFORNIA; LOCAL LEADERS SPLIT VOTES

by ECM | February 15, 2009 12:32 am

February 13, 2009 — The House of Representatives passed the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by a vote of 246-183. Local Democratic
representatives Bob Filner and Susan Davis voted for the measure, while Republicans
Duncan D. Hunter, Brian Bilbray and Darrell Issa voted no. According
to the White House, the measure will create or save 396,000 jobs in California
by the end of next year.

“President Obama’s job-creation package passed by Congress will rebuild
America–making us more globally competitive and energy independent; transforming
our economy for long-term growth; giving 95 percent of American workers an
immediate tax cut; and investing quickly in our economy,” said Congressman
Filner. “No mission is more critical to the American people, and the
President and Congress got this done just three weeks after his inauguration
This economic recovery plan will create American jobs now, provide one
of the largest tax cuts in American history, and lay a foundation for long-term
growth through clean energy, innovation and education.”

San Diego Republican Party Chairman Tony Kravic criticized the measure as a “massive,
wasteful spending bill” and praised local Republicans for opposing the measure. "Californians
are looking for relief from an economic slide that has hurt our state more
than any other. The Reid-Pelosi legislation passed today with ZERO Republican
votes will not help stimulate the economy – it will only stimulate the size
of government and the mountain of debt future generations will be saddled with,” Krvaric
said.

The GOP leader added, “With a price tag of more than $1 trillion when factoring
in interest, this monstrosity will cost every family nearly $10,000 in added
debt. It is an act of generational theft that our children and grandchildren
will be paying for far into the future.”

But Filner said the legislation has “unprecedented accountability and transparency
measures to help ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and effectively” including no earmarked projects and a new recovery.gov[1] website
allowing Americans to track the investments.

Krvaric said Republicans have put forward an alternative that would get the
economy moving by reducing the barriers to working, saving and investing, but
did not provide details.

Filner defended the Democratic plan–and provided details of how it proposes
to help California. “America is facing an economic crisis greater than
any since the Great Depression, with a staggering 3.6 million American jobs
lost in the last 13 months and an unemployment rate here in California that
has climbed to 9.3 percent,” he said. “As the President works to address
the mortgage foreclosure crisis and get credit flowing in our financial system,
this plan will begin to turn our economy around and bring jobs, relief and
hope for Californians.”

The President’s measure aims to provide the following economic stimulus goals
for the U.S. economy and California specifically:

• Creating or saving 396,000 jobs in California over the next two years;

• Providing a Making Work Pay tax cut of up to $800 for 12,420,000 workers
  and their families–designed to start paying out immediately into
  workers’ paychecks – as well as tax cuts to spur businesses large and small;

• Transforming the U .S. economy With clean, efficient, American energy and
  innovation and technology to create more than 1 million jobs;

• Lowering Health Care Costs and improving care by computerizing medical
  records–which is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs–and
  helping people who cannot afford health care during these tough economic
  times;

• Modernizing roads and bridges to create jobs with an extra $2.57 billion
  here in California, along with other critical infrastructure like high-speed
  rail;

• Modernizing schools and making college more affordable with improved Pell
  Grants for the 744,236 Pell Grant recipient here in California and a higher
  education tax credit for 522,000 students in our state;

• Helping workers hurt by the economy, including more than 1.7 million Californians
  that are out of work, those who have lost their health care, and seniors;
  and

• Saving jobs of teachers, police officers, health care workers, and protecting
  vital services.

“It will take time to turn this economy around, but we are confident that
this package will make our economy stronger and more resilient,” Filner concluded.
“Americans have always come together in the face of challenges, and we will
once again with the swift and bold leadership of President Obama.”

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