Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement regarding the Senate’s consideration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“Earlier this morning, the Department of Labor announced the loss of almost 600,000 jobs last month. Since the beginning of last year, the unemployment rate in New York has nearly doubled to more than 7%. The continued downward pressure of this recession means we can no longer wait to take action.
“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is an essential part of our response to today’s economic crisis. This bill will make immediate investments in our economy, generate millions of jobs, and is expected to bring almost $13 billion into New York. At the same time, this plan will lay down a solid foundation for future economic growth by developing energy alternatives, rebuilding crumbling infrastructure, and investing in new infrastructure such as healthcare IT, a better electric grid, and rural broadband. It will also invest in targeted tax cuts for small businesses and our middle class, through early childhood education and college tuition tax credits.
“The silver lining of a difficult economy is that it shifts America’s priorities back home toward self-reliance and domestic production: areas where New York State is perfectly poised to take advantage of these new opportunities.
“I remain committed to working with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to craft legislation that can lift our nation and our state out of this economic slowdown. I believe the bill before us reflects an appropriate balance between tax cuts for working Americans, long-term investments in our economy and job growth and assistance to help states like New York avoid cutting even more jobs.”