WASHINGTON D.C. – January 27, 2009 – U.S. Representative Doyle voted today to pass a bill to get our economy on the road to recovery and help families hurt by the current recession.

“The economy’s in freefall, housing prices are plummeting, people’s savings have been decimated, and we’ve lost two and a half million jobs over the last year,” Congressman Doyle observed.  “We’re already in the deepest recession in decades, and it looks like things are going to get worse before they get better.  That’s why I believe Congress needs to act boldly to stabilize and rebuild our economy and put Americans back to work.”

The House passed H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, by a vote of 244 to 188. 

“If Congress doesn’t enact legislation like this quickly, more Americans will lose their jobs, more small businesses will have to shut down, more homeowners will face foreclosure, the recession will last longer, and the budget deficit will grow even larger,” Congressman Doyle added.  “The Republican alternative – doing too little and targeting the benefits to the wealthy – would simply make things worse for most Americans.  It seems like my Republican House colleagues have learned nothing from the Great Depression and the failed policies of Herbert Hoover.”

The $825 billion recovery package of tax cuts and investments ($275 billion in tax cuts and $550 billion in new spending) is projected to create 3 to 4 million jobs, primarily through the following provisions:

• $275 billion in tax relief for 95% of working families and struggling small businesses;
• $90 billion in investments to rebuild and modernize our roads, bridges, and schools;
• $94 billion in targeted investments in energy, health, and information technologies to spur long-term economic growth and lower consumer prices;
• $160 billion in aid to states to protect vital services – like healthcare, education, and local law enforcement – and $100 billion for state programs that help those hardest hit in this recession –programs like extended unemployment insurance, food stamps, and Supplemental Security Income benefits for low-income seniors and disabled individuals.

The spending authorized by the recovery package will take effect quickly; the Office of Management and Budget estimates that 75% of its funds will be spent within 18 months.  But the recovery plan also invests for the long term, ensuring that America will come out of this recession with a more robust and globally competitive economy and a basis for sustainable growth.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act isn’t just a smart response to the current economic emergency,” Congressman Doyle said.  “It’s also a smart investment in our future.  I hope that Congress will finish work on this bill and send it to the President’s desk in short order.”

The recovery plan includes several important layers of accountability. It includes no earmarks or pet projects. Investments funded, total costs, and program managers will all be posted publicly on a website created by President Obama.  In addition, the Government Accountability Office, Inspectors General, and a new Accountability and Transparency Board will review all funding decisions, striving to prevent waste and fraud.

Funding contained in the bill for Pennsylvania exceeds $12 billion, including:

Medicaid $3.9 billion (out of $82 billion nationwide)
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund $2.5 billion (out of $79 billion nationwide)
Byrne Justice Assistance Grants $112 million
Highway, bridge, transit and clean water infrastructure $1.863 billion (out of $43 billion nationwide)
Education Modernization, Renovation, and Repair:  821 million (out of $20 billion nationwide)
Pell Grant Maximum Award increase:  $878 million (out of $25 billion nationwide)
Title I Education assistance $524 million (out of $13 billion nationwide)
IDEA Education assistance $494 million (out of $13 billion nationwide)
Head Start:  $22 million (out of $2.1 billion nationwide)
Educational Technology State Grants $38 million (out of $1 Billion nationwide)
Food Stamp benefits $791 million (out of $19.5 billion nationwide)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) $190 million (out of $4.2 billion nationwide)
Emergency Shelter Grant Program $90 million (out of $1.5 billion nationwide)
Child Care and Development Block Grant:  $60 million (out of $2 billion nationwide)
Employment and Training assistance $97 million (out of $3.2 billion nationwide)
Community Services Block Grant $42 million (out of $1 billion nationwide)
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program $66 million (out of $1 billion nationwide)
Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant  $15 million (out of $296 million nationwide)
Elderly Nutrition Services $5.4 million (out of $200 million nationwide)

In addition, the tax provisions in the bill would help many Pennsylvanians as well:

4.4 million households in Pennsylvania would benefit from the Making Work Pay tax credit, which would provide $500 to each working individual and $1,000 to each married couple.

567,000 children in Pennsylvania would be helped by the bill’s provision temporarily extending the Child Tax Credit to all working families with children.

Prior to final consideration of the bill, the House rejected a House Republican substitute by a vote of 170 to 266. 

The House Republicans’ $475 billion substitute would have eliminated all of the spending in H.R. 1 except for the $30 billion in unemployment insurance funding.  The substitute would also have eliminated H.R. 1’s tax cuts for working families and replaced them with tax breaks benefiting primarily the wealthiest 20 percent of American households.  Roughly 23 million lower-income taxpayers who would get tax relief under H.R. 1 would receive nothing at all under the GOP substitute.  At the other end of the income spectrum, one $48 billion provision in the Republican substitute would reduce the top individual income tax rate from 35% to 28% (adjusted gross household income has to exceed $357,700 to fall into this bracket). 

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