The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan: What It Means for Florida and the 8th District

Press Release

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan: What It Means for Florida and the 8th District

Today, the House of Representatives voted on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In the last year, 2.6 million jobs were lost in the United States - the worst year in more than 60 years. Florida's economy has been hit especially hard during the economic recession. In the last year, unemployment in Florida has gone from 4.5% to 8.1%, from 415,500 to 751,800 unemployed workers.

"I am pleased to say that this bill is a change in priorities," said Representative Alan Grayson. "It spends 75 times as much money on education and health care as it does on military spending. It spends 12 times as much money on transportation and housing as it does on military spending. In short, what this bill does is meet human needs. It does what a just society does - it feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless, and heals the sick. It helps us look forward to the day when we beat our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks, when nation does not lift up sword against nation, and we need not learn war any more."

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