Dear Friends,

A little more than a year ago, our nation was plunged into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Years of financial deregulation - which I strongly opposed - allowed Wall Street to create a financial and housing market bubble that, when it burst, led to a meltdown in housing prices, our nation’s financial markets, and in the broader economy. We all saw the terrible results -- both large and small businesses couldn’t get the money they needed to finance their operations. Many companies were forced to make cutbacks and even lay off workers. Stock prices plummeted, imperiling the life savings of millions of working families. And, at the same time, derivatives-related losses sent housing and commercial real estate prices into a tailspin. America faced a mounting crisis, which if not addressed, could have seriously damaged our national economy for years to come.

Urgent action was needed to respond to this crisis. That is why the Congress passed, and I supported, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. President Obama signed the Recovery Act into law a year ago last month.

Over the year since its enactment, we have begun to see the results of the Recovery Act take hold. In January of last year, before enactment of the Recovery Act, Americans lost 779,000 jobs. A year later, job losses have tapered down to 20,000 jobs - a 97% reduction. The Recovery Act is working for you and for others in our community. Here is how:

Creating Jobs: By the end of 2009, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the Recovery Act was responsible for creating or preserving as many as 2.4 million jobs, including an estimated 53,000 jobs in Massachusetts. Current projections are that the Recovery Act will result in 3.5 million jobs being added by the end of this year. In Massachusetts, this stimulus is estimated to have provided $4.3 billion and saved or created over 13,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. That includes:

• $71 million in public safety and security funding for improved emergency communications systems and preservation of 313 jobs for police and firefighters across the Commonwealth.
• $70 billion to save or create 300,000 jobs for teachers and other education workers, including over 3,200 in Massachusetts.
• $20 billion in loans made to over 42,000 small businesses nationwide, including over 1,500 in Massachusetts to the tune of more than $454 million.
• Over $6.7 million to people in the 7th district who have lost their jobs, including helping families who have lost their breadwinner pay for health care;
• Providing a $250 check last year to 1.1 million senior citizens in Massachusetts.

Cutting Taxes: To help families pay their bills and boost demand at local businesses, the American Recovery Act is giving 95 percent of American workers, including more than 230,000 in the 7th Congressional District, one of the fastest and broadest tax cuts in history. It has also provided a tax cut for over 29,000 Massachusetts residents who are first time homebuyers. That is along with 23 other tax cuts for small businesses, families sending kids to college, and many others. Most Americans don’t realize the largest single part of the Recovery Act is tax cuts - making up one-third of the entire package.

According to an analysis by the House Ways and Means Committee, the Recovery Act’s "Helping Make Work Pay" tax cut gave 2.4 million people in Massachusetts a total of $1.2 billion in tax cuts. 230,000 people in the 7th Congressional District are estimated to have received these tax cuts, which ranged from $400 for individuals to $800 for working families. The Recovery Act also provided 71,000 Massachusetts students with much-needed relief from their college student loans.

Investing in Infrastructure: The Recovery Act is beginning to rebuild America with investments in roads, bridges, mass transit, flood control, clean water projects, and other infrastructure. Here in Massachusetts, over 200 highway, transit, or clean water projects are already underway and more than $775 million in construction and engineering activity has been obligated - crucial to spurring our local economies now and saving commuters time and money long term. So far, the 7th Congressional District has received over $500 million in federal funding from the Recovery Act, including:

• Providing over $40 million to finance a 9-story parking garage in Revere that will be a key part of the Waterfront Square Development;
• Helping disabled residents of Winchester and surrounding communities gain access to the MBTA Commuter Rail by financing $2 million to install mini-high platforms for improved ADA accessibility;
• Revitalizing and reconstructing much-needed infrastructure and roadways along Nonantum Road in Watertown and Brighton to improve safety and create bikeway lanes.

From paving roads, to laying new communications lines, to making our homes and businesses more energy efficient, the Recovery Act is putting people back to work, while funding some of our nation’s most important priorities.

Incentivizing Innovation: To create 21st Century jobs and lay a new foundation for our economy--stronger, more globally competitive, and spreading prosperity to more Americans, the Recovery Act includes historic commitments to:

• Renewable energy production, energy efficiency, and a smart grid
• Electronic medical records and cutting-edge medical research
• K-12 education reforms to make sure our children can compete in the world economy
• High-speed rail and more efficient transportation
• Broadband and wireless Internet

• $249.9 million to help a Watertown company develop the electric batteries that will power the cars of the future, helping to create new jobs in Massachusetts and around the country.
• $10.5 million in education technology grants in Malden, which will help improve academic achievement and give Malden schools the opportunity to acquire new and emerging technologies and provide state-of-the-art learning environments.
• $4 million to help a Lexington company to create new jobs developing a new solar cell technology which could revolutionize the electric power market.

Other positive signs for the families and American businesses include the rebound of the stock market - a relief to the many whose retirement savings plummeted -- and American manufacturing, which has grown for the last six months—reaching its highest level in 6 years.

Even with this significant progress, more must be done. And only about half of the funds from the Recovery Act have been disbursed. This economic crisis that has devastated families and businesses across the nation was years in the making; it will take time to get the economy back on track. Nearly 15 million Americans are out of work (including nearly 27,000 in the 7th Congressional District) through no fault of their own. Many others are struggling to make ends meet. In Congress, I will keep working to create good private sector jobs and help restore economic security and the American dream.

Let me know if I can ever be of any assistance to you and your family, and feel free to contact me anytime with questions or concerns. You may do so by visiting my website at http://markey.house.gov/ or by calling either the Medford office at 781-396-2900 or the Framingham office at 508-875-2900.

Please pass this message on to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to sign up for regular e-newsletter updates HERE.

Sincerely,

Edward J. Markey