Congressman John Hall's Work to Revive the Economy and Create Jobs

The Hudson Valley's economy is built on a strong base of small businesses, farms, and a top notch labor force. However, this strong base is being threatened by our current economic crisis and recession. My number one priority is to revive our economy and set the Hudson Valley's economy on a path to thriving for generations to come.

The solution is the right mix of tax cuts and spending with which we can deliver twofold results: put people to work immediately to stimulate the economy and reinvest in America for the long-term with 21st century green technology, making us more globally competitive and energy independent.

With American ingenuity and spirit, we can work together to sustain the prosperity that our country has known. I firmly believe that the 21st Century will become another century of American prosperity. If we step up to this challenge, we can continue leading the way forward.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Signed into law on February 17, 2009 by President Obama, this recovery and stimulus package provides the largest tax cut in history. It also makes the first dramatic new investment in America's infrastructure and future since the creation of the interstate highway system a half century ago.

To help local communities access the funding opportunities provided by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, I have created a special Recovery Act Guide. In this guide you will find helpful and pertinent information on how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stands to impact your community and how you – whether a municipality, school, individual, or business owner – can access the unprecedented economic assistance this legislation provides. Included is a detailed and searchable outline of: how federal recovery dollars are allocated by government agencies; each agency's programs and eligibility standards; the mission these programs intend to accomplish, and how you can apply for funding.

Click here to read my Economic Recovery Guide

This economic recovery package will:

Create and save 3.5 million jobs (215,000 jobs in New York alone), rebuild America, make us more globally competitive and energy independent, and transform our economy.
Give 95 percent of American workers an immediate tax cut.
Invest in roads, bridges, mass transit, energy efficient buildings, flood control, clean water projects, and other infrastructure projects.
Restore science and innovation as the keys to new American-made technology, preventing and treating disease, and tackling urgent national challenges like climate change and dependence on foreign oil.
Invest in the economy quickly.

Recovery Act Projects in the 19th Congressional District

View Recovery Act Funding for NY-19 in a larger map

Job Help
Over 200,000 jobs will be created in New York by the economic recovery package. Information on these jobs and how to apply for them can be found through the below links:

www.RECOVERY.GOV - Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. Soon there should be information posted here about the jobs created by the economic recovery package.
www.usajobs.opm.gov – The federal government's official job site featuring almost 40,000 opportunities for federal employment nationwide.
http://www.labor.state.ny.us/lookingforajob.shtm - One stop job shop for the state of New York, featuring available state jobs, as well as information on private employers in our area who are hiring. The site also features information on job training and skill development, as well as information about job placement resources.

If you're looking for employment, there are job training and education facilities throughout the area where you can learn to develop new skill sets for different jobs and receive assistance from job counselors in preparing your resume and other documentation that will help you become employed.

For people who have lost their jobs and are struggling to find employment, Congress has extended unemployment benefits available to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. Information on who qualifies for New York State's unemployment program and information on how to enroll in it can be obtained through the New York State Department of Labor's website at https://ui.labor.state.ny.us/UBC/home.do.

If you have lost your health insurance, information on how to maintain coverage through COBRA is available on the State Insurance Department's website at http://www.ins.state.ny.us/faqs/faqs_cobra.htm.

Tax Cuts

For too long our tax system has wrongly favored corporate interests and wealthy individuals over small businesses and working families. America's working families and small businesses are the heart of the American economy and the engine of our future job growth.

The Economic Recovery Package made an important first step in getting the tax code back on the side of the Hudson Valley's working families by investing in education and infrastructure programs instead of passing the burden along to local property taxpayers.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gives 95 percent of working families an immediate tax cut and provides targeted tax relief for college costs, new home purchases, and small businesses that are creating new jobs.

Targeted Spending

In our economic situation, targeted government spending can be the shot in the arm that the economy needs to maintain demand and restore growth.

At the same time, I'm working to ensure that we spend wisely and focus on projects that will create long term value for years to come. We must invest in projects that lead to job growth, like public infrastructure. Fixing America's roads, bridges, and public transit, will improve all of our quality of life by making our roads and bridges safer, reducing traffic delays, improving our air quality, and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

We must also invest in modernizing our nation's energy system, to help generate new jobs in green energy technology, as well as in our schools and hospitals. Preventing job losses in the ranks of teachers and nurses stops the bleeding in our job market, and at the same time help ensure the future success and health of our children. When we support the funding of medical research and primary and secondary education, we help our young people and businesses succeed in a global economy.

The benefits that come out of this spending will kick start our economy, and the value that it creates is vital to building a new era of American prosperity.

Assistance to New York State
All of our efforts at the federal level will be for naught if New York has to slash spending to the point of creating another major contraction in the economy.

State budgets have been hit especially hard over the last year, and face the prospect of needing unprecedented tax increases and a reduction in services. New York, which relies on Wall Street's success for so much of its revenue, has been particularly hard hit by the current economic crisis.

This has left New York State in dire need of federal assistance, without which spending on Medicaid, housing and education would likely be slashed.

The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act provided billions to New York to help prevent these cuts.

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