Recovery Act success a foundation for jobs, for America

[babylonsister]

OPINION: Recovery Act success a foundation for jobs, for America
By James L. Oberstar - 03/11/10 05:06 PM ET


The success of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the promise of the HIRE Act mean good news for our nation’s infrastructure and our efforts to put Americans back to work.

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released the latest data on state investments under the Recovery Act last week. Every Recovery Act dollar for highway, transit, and wastewater infrastructure formula programs is approved or under contract. Two-thirds of these funds are being put to good use on projects that are underway, and more than 3,770 projects are already completed.

The numbers speak for themselves. Of the $38.1 billion available for highway, transit, and wastewater infrastructure formula investments under the Recovery Act, 15,377 projects worth $31.6 billion, or 83 percent, have been put out to bid, as of Jan. 31, 2010. Within this total, 13,397 projects, totaling $28 billion, are under contract. Across the nation, 3,770 projects are completed and work has begun on an additional 7,813 projects totaling $21.7 billion.

These projects have created or sustained 330,000 family-wage, on-project jobs across the nation. Total employment, including direct, indirect, and induced jobs, surpasses 1 million. The Transportation Committee further calculates that the sum of $279 million in unemployment checks has been avoided as a result of the direct jobs created by this bill, and the workers who hold these direct jobs have paid nearly $353 million in federal taxes.

These Recovery Act funds, however, will soon be exhausted, but there is good news there as well. The House and Senate are in the final stages of approving H.R. 2847, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act.

The HIRE Act extends the surface transportation programs through Dec. 31, 2010, and provides $63.5 billion for these programs for fiscal 2010 and $77 billion over the entire 15-month period.

more...

http://thehill.com/special-reports/transportation-a-infrastructure-march-2010/86307-foundation-for-jobs-and-for-america

[AllentownJake]

1. States are laying off workers and cutting budgets

Any job created by states through stimulus bill funding has a lifespan of the funding from the federal government.

[HughMoran]

4. Duh! I think we all know that stimulus money is a 'bridge-gap' until the economy starts to recover

Sometimes it appears that you are negative just for the sake of being negative.

[Clio the Leo]

2. Kick! NT

[Cha]

3. Slowly recovering from the disasterous bush cheney

plundering. Thank you President Obama and TEAM!