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Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008

Date: Sept. 26, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Oil and Gas


JOB CREATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 26, 2008)

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Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, while Wall street teeters on the edge of collapse families have been in free-fall for months. As a nation, our economy is in trouble.

For the people of Rhode Island, who currently face 8.5 percent unemployment, this crisis demands immediate action. Over the past year, unemployment in the state has risen by three and a half percent.

Mr. Speaker, the economic recovery package before us today will help stem the slide of our economy into a deep recession while simultaneously making important investments in our future. My constituents in Rhode Island cannot afford another day without this critical legislation.

This bill will help get more Americans back to work right away by investing in our crumbling bridges and highways.

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This bill will help local transit agencies, like those in my state, which currently face cost overruns and drastic reductions in service because of aging fleets and escalating gas prices.

This bill will make essential investments in our schools by providing funding to repair dilapidated buildings and make energy-saving renovations up front, so that less of our future education budget literally goes up in smoke.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation makes a number of other important investments, but I would like to call my colleagues attention to the help it offers to the most vulnerable among us. For Rhode Islanders and those across this country who are out of work, this bill extends unemployment benefits to keep families in their houses and to keep food on their tables.

Certainly, these are trying economic times for our country which require fundamental change. This legislation represents an important step toward policies which couple sound investment with true compassion.

For all American families struggling in these trying times, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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