The American people need jobs that provide decent living wages for men and women and wages that allow families to live with dignity. As we emerge from a deep recession, brought on by eight years of Bush policies, we need to focus on creating jobs for the people in our District.
A New York Times article Judging Stimulus by Job Data Reveals Success on the Recovery Act passed by in 2009 reports that “outside evaluations of the stimulus by best-known economic research firms all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs according to IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s Economy.com. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative.”
The Recovery Act was a good start to turning our economy around. We must continue to develop ways to create job growth through legislation by continuing to invest in infrastructure, states, and direct job creation. We must also provide incentives for small and new business growth. With the demand for new energy technologies, there is an enormous potential for new job growth in the “green jobs” arena in which could provide many jobs in manufacturing, research, transportation and the technology sectors to name a few. Small businesses employ most of the workers in our country and in our District, and they have been leading in “green” technologies and innovation. The United States can lead the world in these new technologies, and I’ll support these initiatives that will bring these jobs to our District, help our small businesses thrive, and put people to work.
Another key component of getting people back to work is access to technical training, educational opportunities in new areas of study, and support services for workers. I strongly support such programs for workers in our District and will work to expand these opportunities for our citizens.