Rep. Courtney: American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Will Make Far-Reaching Investments In Every Sector

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Rep. Courtney: American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Will Make Far-Reaching Investments In Every Sector

Congressman Joe Courtney expressed his initial support for the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," which after an agreement with the Obama Transition Team, proposes to make substantial investments in almost every sector of our economy, including much needed funding for healthcare, local schools and aging infrastructure. The focus of the proposed $825+ billion stimulus package is to stabilize the American economy and to create meaningful new jobs.

"For decades, the federal government has allowed our enormous energy and transportation infrastructure to become inefficient and ineffective, while our education and healthcare systems have fallen behind other developed nations around the world, but we have an incredible opportunity in the midst of this global economic crisis to grow and advance every sector in every part of our country," stated Courtney.

"Local Connecticut schools and colleges will receive the funding necessary to build a more educated workforce for the future, and with new investments in energy technology, we can begin to wean our nation off of foreign sources of fossil fuels and build a national energy policy around renewable energy resources," Courtney added.

As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, Congressman Joe Courtney is particularly pleased with the provisions related to education. As proposed, the ARRA will allocate more than $140 billion in education funding, including new funding for Title 1, special education funding, and new school construction and improvements over the next two years, helping to reverse the crush of federal mandates on local schools districts and provide new jobs.

"The better the learning environment and the greater the access to an education, the more competitive our students will be to engage in the global economy," stated Courtney. "The more we invest now at this time of great economic difficulty, the better our eventual outcome will be for local taxpayers, displaced workers, and our future economic wealth."

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