Washington, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced the inclusion of a plan in the President’s FY 2008 Budget that will enable $2 billion in tax credits for the City and State of the New York to go towards the construction of the Lower Manhattan Rail Link to JFK Airport. Senator Clinton has been working with her colleagues in both the Senate and the House to pass this long sought after plan and today’s announcement is welcome news to those efforts.

“The inclusion of this provision in the budget is a tremendous victory for New York City and Lower Manhattan as we still work to regain our footing after the devastation of September 11th. The direct rail link to the JFK airport will help sustain the ongoing revitalization we have seen thus far, create jobs and new investment and will benefit all of the businesses and residents of Lower Manhattan. Nevertheless we need to ensure that we continue to have the White House’s support for this project as we move forward through the legislative process”.

Originally included in the $20 billion post 9-11 recovery package for New York City that was fought for and won by Senator Clinton, the tax incentives designed to encourage investment in the areas affected by the attacks were being underutilized due to the slow economic recovery in the area. Working with the City and a coalition of concerned New York businessmen and women, the City, State and New York delegation, Senator Clinton helped to modify the unused tax incentives and convert them into tax credits for the City and State that can be used against federal tax payments. Because the value of the tax credits can be fully utilized, the proposal ensures that the City and State will stand to directly benefit from $2 billion of tax credits.

After the September 11th attacks 60,000 jobs in Lower Manhattan were lost. Despite significant recovery in the residential sector, the pace of employment recovery has been slow. The two main obstacles to Lower Manhattan’s continued growth, its relatively poor interconnection to workers in the suburbs and its relative inaccessibility to the national and international business community, would be directly addressed by the construction of this rail link. Senator Clinton said, “I want to maintain Lower Manhattan’s role as a dynamic economic hub for the entire nation and the world, and addressing these critical transportation needs for our downtown businesses is one of the best ways to ensure that role for the future.”

It is estimated that the new rail link will help to create as many as 68,000 permanent new jobs in Lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn with more than $10.4 billion worth of economic output generated by the rail link annually.

###