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On February 13, both the House of
Representatives and the Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. President Obama signed the bill into law on February 17. The
bill is estimated to create or save 3.5 million jobs throughout the country,
including 143,000 jobs in Pennsylvania and
7,800 jobs in Congressman Kanjorski's Congressional District in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Congressman Kanjorski released his extensive guidebook detailing how individuals,
families, businesses, community organizations, and local governments can more easily navigate the extensive recovery
package. Among other things, the guidebook explains how municipalities
can try to secure funding from the recovery package. For municipalities
to receive funding through the bill, they must apply to the appropriate federal
or state agencies. The guidebook also provides constituents with valuable
information as to how the legislation could directly affect them, their
families, and their communities.
Click here to view my guidebook to the recovery
package.
Click on the
below links to view manuals to accessing and understanding different pieces of
the recovery package:
Please click here to learn about the recovery package
and how it will impact you, your family, and your community.
Many pieces of the recovery package
could directly affect individuals and their families including:
-
$250 one-time payments to recipients of Social
Security benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, veteran's compensation or
pension benefits, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
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$400 tax credit for working individuals and $800
tax credit for working families in 2009 and 2010;
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At least $90 million for job training,
employment services, and job assistance programs for unemployed individuals in Pennsylvania;
- Up to
$2,500 tax credit for higher education of the cost of tuition and related
expenses;
-
10 percent tax credit, without repayment, or up
to $8,000, for first-time homebuyers on the purchase of a home in 2009;
-
Deduction for state and local sales taxes and
excise taxes paid on the purchase of standard-sized automobile; and
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Up
to 30 percent tax credit on qualified energy efficient home and building
improvements through 2010, for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient
windows and doors, or insulation, which will save families money and protect
the environment.
- 65 percent reduction in COBRA costs for people who lose their jobs between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. Click here to learn more details about the COBRA premium reduction.
Pennsylvania is expected to receive the
following funding from the bill:
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More than $1.3 billion
in funding to modernize highways and bridges, and improve public transit
systems.
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4.9 million workers
and families will receive a tax credit of $400 for working individuals and $800
for working families.
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$2,500 in
tax credits to make college more affordable for 138,000
additional families will receive up to
-
244,000 Pell Grant
recipients will receive more funding so that they can afford to go to college
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$4.07 billion in
Medicaid funding to maintain services for recipients.
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$73 million in law
enforcement funds to support the safety of our communities.
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$1.9 billion in state
stabilization funding to prevent education-related layoffs, upgrade,
repair and modernize schools and restore harmful cuts to education
funding.
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$222 million in
funding for water and wastewater management projects for Clean Water and Clean
Drinking Water projects.
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$258 million through
the Weatherization Assistance Program enabling low-income families to
permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy
efficient
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972,000 taxpayers will
be protected from the Alternative Minimum Tax, preventing them from paying
thousands in additional income taxes.
Below please find a press release
with Congressman Kanjorski's
statement for the record about the recovery package.
KANJORSKI SUPPORTS RECOVERY PACKAGE TO HELP STRUGGLING
FAMILIES
Kanjorski: We are in a time of crisis, and doing
nothing is not an option
WASHINGTON - Today,
Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), explained his support for H.R. 1, the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in a statement for the Congressional
Record. The House passed the bill today by a vote of 246-183.
"While the final recovery bill is
not perfect, nor does it address all my concerns, I strongly believe that we
must take quick action to help Americans who are struggling and help spur job
creation," said Congressman Kanjorski in his statement.
The text of Congressman Kanjorski's statement for the Congressional Record on the
recovery package follows:
STATEMENT
IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 1, THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
--------
PAUL
E. KANJORSKI
OF PENNSYLVANIA
IN
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February
13, 2009
--------
MR. KANJORSKI. Madam Speaker,
I rise today to offer my thoughts about H.R. 1, the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
While the final recovery bill is
not perfect, nor does it address all my concerns, I strongly believe that we
must take quick action to help Americans who are struggling and help spur job
creation. We are in a time of crisis, and doing nothing is not an
option. I agree with President Obama - time is of the essence, and we
must act quickly to pass a recovery package. Though no bill is perfect, I
have reconciled my problems with the initial bill for the sake of helping
Americans and the economy.
Just last week, the U.S. Department
of Labor announced recent increases in the number of unemployed
Americans. These statistics were incredibly troubling. Sadly, they
showed a twenty-six year high in unemployment filings. Additionally, part
of my own Congressional District in Northeastern
Pennsylvania, faces a 7.7 percent unemployment rate, higher than
the state and national averages. Clearly the increase in the number of
people unemployed in the country and in Northeastern
Pennsylvania reflects the need for the federal government to
immediately provide greater assistance to those out of work and
struggling.
While I wanted the recovery bill to
focus more on job creation through infrastructure in the short term, which was
the original focus of the bill, it does address these issues to an
extent. The bill is estimated to create or save 3.5 million jobs
throughout the country, including 143,000 jobs in Pennsylvania and 7,700 jobs in my
Congressional District. The bill includes $64 billion for infrastructure
development that is estimated to create or sustain 1.8 million jobs nationally
and generate $322 billion of economic activity. Additionally, to help individuals
get back to work in good jobs, almost $4 billion is allocated for job training
programs.
I also previously expressed the
need for the recovery package to focus on helping those who are out of work or
retired. While many people are struggling, we must help those without
jobs feed their families immediately. Though I encourage a larger focus
on this for future legislation, this bill extends unemployment insurance
through December 2009 and it increases benefit payments by $25 per week, so
that jobless workers will now receive $325 per week in tax-free benefits.
It also includes a one time $250 payment to retirees, disabled individuals, and
for Supplemental Security Income to help more people without jobs.
Finally, I had strongly advocated
for the inclusion of a General Revenue Sharing program through an amendment to
the recovery package that would provide localities with a needed source of
revenue for undertaking job-creating infrastructure projects and maintaining
public safety networks. This would be critical to helping localities
across the country that are facing significant funding shortfalls as a result
of the ongoing economic downturn. While I was disappointed that this
amendment was not included in the legislation, I applaud provisions in the
current bill that will improve state and local government bonds, allowing
states and localities to afford needed infrastructure projects. The
recovery package also creates a competitive grant program exclusively for state
and local surface transportation projects. Additionally, I will introduce
a stand alone General Revenue Sharing bill in the near future.
My strongest objection to the
initial recovery package dealt with the fact that many Members, both Democrats
and Republicans, were not involved in the discussions on the bill. As I
have continued to say, open door policies regarding Congress' legislation are essential. All Members of
Congress must have a voice and the opportunity to debate bills, especially the
recovery package which is the most significant and certainly the most expensive
undertaking in our nation's
history. I voiced my concerns to House leadership, and they were
noted. I hope these actions will be changed in the future.
Additionally, the public must have
an informed voice as well. In order to let the American public truly
understand the need for the recovery bill, and other legislation going forward,
we need to allow them to fully understand it. I am a firm believer in
that we must determine the problem before addressing the possible
solutions. We must effectively communicate to the public the full extent
of the problems we face so that they also understand why we are taking such
action.
I applaud President Obama for his
determination and willingness to jump on such a daunting project in his first
month in office. While this is not a final solution to our economic
problems, as we will likely need another recovery package in the future, it is
an important step forward. Fixing our economy will not happen overnight,
but I have faith that we will emerge from these tough times stronger than ever.
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