Recovery Act Working

Floor Speech

Recovery Act Working

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to share some success stories from the 20th Congressional District in Florida that show that the evidence is clear that the Recovery Act is working to cushion the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression and lay a new foundation for economic growth.

In my State of Florida, we are creating jobs and investing in the infrastructure of our community. Indeed, in my district alone, there have been 130 Recovery Act grants that have been awarded. Even more importantly, in my congressional district, 61 small businesses have received more than $21 million in loans. These loans to small businesses have allowed companies to stay open, keep people employed, and prevented an even deeper economic downturn.

Experts agree that the Recovery Act is already responsible for saving or creating 2 million jobs, and we remain on track to create and save at least an additional 3 1/2 million jobs by the end of the year.

The Recovery Act, to be clear, was never meant to replace dollar for dollar or job for job what we have lost. But 1 year in, experts ranging from private forecasters to Governors on both sides of the aisle say the Recovery Act has helped pull us back from the brink of economic disaster and is helping us lay a firm foundation for our economic recovery.

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