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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2009
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Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office) |
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HOLT SUPPORTS AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
Highlights Science Investment as Engine for Economic Growth
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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12) today voted for the House-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, highlighting investments that will create 3 to 4 million jobs – including an estimated 100,000 in New Jersey – and help families struggling in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Holt worked with Congressional leaders to include $22 billion of new funding for science research and facilities, including $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, and $2 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Holt called science funding the “ideal investment” because it creates jobs now while laying down the foundation for long-term economic growth.
“The key to American economic prosperity is an entrepreneurial spirit and an openness to innovation, constantly nourished by scientific research,” Holt said. “Research funded by the federal government provided entrepreneurs with the discoveries they needed to found Google and create the iPod. These case studies show that a historic investment in science will have a lasting positive impact beyond the immediate job creation.”
Holt noted that new funding would support the repair of outdated research labs, the manufacture of new scientific instruments, the education of bright graduate students, and the acceleration of projects that save energy and create new sources of energy. All of these projects would provide jobs not just to scientists but to research assistants, electricians who wire labs, technicians who run instruments, and construction workers who will renovate the buildings.
A summary of science funding in the bill can be found at http://holt.house.gov/fact.shtml.
In December 2008, Holt hosted a roundtable discussion at Princeton University, along with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, senior Congressional leaders, and national leaders in the science and technology community to highlight the importance of innovation infrastructure to ensure long-term American competitiveness. After the roundtable, the Speaker said that the way to move forward as a nation is “through science, science, science, and science.”
Holt also drew attention to other investments that would help create new jobs and help families struggling in the economy, including funding to:
--Modernize schools and help states prevent the laying off of teachers and other school employees ($53.6 billion, including $1.339 billion for New Jersey)
--Rebuild roads and bridges ($29 billion, including $651 million for New Jersey)
--Improve public transit and rail ($16.4 billion)
--Transform the nation’s electricity systems and provide a more stable infrastructure through the Smart Grid Investment Program. ($4.5 billion)
--Promote Health Information Technology systems, which could help reduce medical errors while lowering administrative costs and accelerating their adoption and usage among doctors and hospitals. ($19 billion)
-- Subsidize up to 65 percent of health coverage through COBRA for 7 million unemployed workers and extend unemployment benefits for 3.5 million workers through 2009, money that would be put back into the economy immediately.
“When millions of people are hurting in New Jersey and across the country, we cannot accept inaction, or worse, the failed policies of the past,” Holt said. “What’s required to put Americans back to work and rebuild our economy is bold, wise action. This bill does so by investing in programs proven to create jobs and to provide a safety net to struggling families.”
The Senate is expected to pass the bill tonight and the President is expected to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act early next week.
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