Brown (FL03) - Press Releases - Congresswoman Brown Votes in Favor of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Conference Report

	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE {February 13, 2009}		CONTACT: David Simon (202) 225-0123

Congresswoman Brown Votes in Favor of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Conference Report

(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Corrine Brown joined a majority of her colleagues in the House of Representatives to support the economic stimulus conference report to create and save three to four million American jobs. The Congresswoman strongly believes that the economic stimulus plan will rebuild America, and make the nation more globally competitive, as well as energy independent. She also contended that it will completely transform the economy and provide immediate short and long-term economic growth.

"Congress has now concretely taken the first step in delivering on the President's promise to get the economy back on track. Action on this entirely comprehensive economic recovery package will create American jobs now, lay a foundation for long-term growth through clean energy, innovation and education, and will do so with strict accountability measures to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and effectively," said the Congresswoman. "I wholeheartedly believe that passage of this economic package will mean real change by rebuilding America's roads and bridges and providing a tax cut to 95 percent of American workers to inject back into the economy. Indeed, our nation is facing an economic crisis greater than any since the Great Depression, with a staggering 2.6 million American jobs lost in the last year and an unemployment rate in my state of Florida that has climbed to above 8%," said the Congresswoman.

I am particularly pleased with the Transportation funding provided in this stimulus bill, which will allow the country to begin making much needed investment in infrastructure to meet the current and future needs of the traveling public. The money provided for highway and bridge construction will help repair crumbling roads and bridges, while the transit funding will improve and expand bus and transit systems throughout the U.S. I am particularly pleased with the increased funding for Amtrak ($1.3 billion), as well as the increased investment in High Speed Rail ($8 billion), which will give our nation a transportation facelift! All of these programs will help improve congestion and provide additional transportation options."

For Florida, some of the other areas which will contribute immediately to a quick recuperation from the nation's economic stagnation consist of:

Creating or saving over 200,000 jobs in Florida over the next two years;

Providing a Making Work Pay tax cut of up to $800 for nearly seven million Florida 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 Our Economy With Clean, Efficient, American Energy and Innovation and Technology that will create more than 1 million jobs;

Lowering health care costs and improving care by computerizing medical records, which will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and helping those who cannot afford health care in these tough times;

Modernizing Roads and Bridges, to create jobs with an extra $1.3 billion in Florida, along with over billions of dollars in critical infrastructure, like $8 billion for high-speed rail, the boldest investment since the creation of the interstate highway system a half century ago;

Education for the 21st Century, modernizing schools and making college more affordable with improved Pell Grants for the nearly 400,000 Florida Pell Grant recipients, and a higher education tax credit for nearly 200,000 Florida students;

Helping workers hurt by the economy, including 750,000 Floridians out of work, who have lost their health care, and seniors; and

Saving the jobs of teachers, police officers, health care workers, and protecting the vital services they provide.

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