Congresswoman Doris Matsui

Economy & Jobs

Rebuilding our economy and putting Sacramentans back to work remains my number one priority.  In light of state and local budget cuts, ensuring the federal government is responsive to our region’s needs has never been more important to me.  Democrats moved quickly but deliberatively at the beginning of the 111th Congress to pass a bold plan to jumpstart our economy and provide short-term help to those hurt most by the economic recession while providing long-term solutions that will build a new foundation for our economy for years to come.

The set of economic conditions before us are greater than anything since the Great Depression, and the road to recovery is long. We need to create jobs and ensure that proper financial oversight is conducted so that the abuses that severely damaged our economy are never repeated. Our economic troubles did not come about overnight and we will not be able to fix them overnight.  Each day I serve as your Representative, I am working to make progress to put Americans back to work and push our economy forward for American families, and making targeted investments in the areas that will grow our economy like clean energy, education, health care and infrastructure. However, the new Republican Majority of the 112th Congress has unfortunately not acted yet to bring a single jobs package to the House floor.

During the last Congress, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, enacted in the first month of President Obama’s term, helped to jumpstart our economy.·The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates more than 1.6 million jobs have been created or saved.·Another 2-3 million are estimated to come.·It gave 95% of American workers a tax cut, and begin to rebuild America’s road, rail, and water infrastructure, with unprecedented accountability.

View where economic recovery funding has gone in our district through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Congresswoman Doris Matsui voted for and President Obama signed into law on February 17, 2009

In the face of an economic crisis, the magnitude of which we have not seen since the Great Depression, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act represents a strategic -- and significant -- investment in our country’s future. The Act has saved and created three to four million jobs, 90 percent of them in the private sector. It has provided more than $150 billion to low-income and vulnerable households -- spurring increased economic activity that will save and create more than one million jobs.

Click Here to Read What Others are Saying About the Local Impact of the Economic Recovery Package

These measures are necessary to help the millions of families whose lives have been upended by the economic crisis. But, this Act has done more than provide short-term stimulus. By modernizing our health care, improving our schools, modernizing our infrastructure, and investing in the clean energy technologies of the future, the Act has laid the foundation for a robust and sustainable 21st century economy.

Recovery Act funding is distributed by the federal government directly to applicable organizations including local, state and federal government entities as well as private businesses, non-profits and other organizations.  California’s share of the federal stimulus package is estimated to be approximately $85 billion over three budget years - including an estimated $30.2 billion in federal tax relief and an estimated $55 billion in spending for federally designated purposes.   

So far, the recovery package has provided over $750 million in investment and recovery funds for Sacramento. To view the full text of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act click here.

And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 863,000 private sector jobs were created in 2010 alone, thanks in part ot the Recovery Act. During the 8 years of the Bush Administration, 673,000 private sector jobs were lost. I am working every day to try to pass legislation that help puts Americans back to work.

While the new Republican majority in the House has yet to bring a single jobs plan to the floor, Democrats, on the other hand, recently reintroduced the "Make It In America" initiative. This initiative will help support our nation's manufacturing and create more jobs. Over the last decade, one third of our nation's manufacturing jobs were lost. But Democrats are working to keep those jobs in America so that our economy can fully recover, and so that we can conitnue to see job growth.

As we strive to rebuild and strengthen our economy, I am committed to continue fighting to keep Sacramento a wonderful place to work, live and play.