House Passes Recovery and Reinvestment Act By A Vote Of 246-183

Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) today supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1) which will create and save 3.5 million American jobs. The full House of Representatives passed the legislation which emerged from the Joint House and Senate Conference Committee and was developed with the Obama Administration. This job creation package will rebuild America, making us more globally competitive and energy independent, provide tax cuts to 95 percent of American workers, and transform our economy for long-term growth. The Senate will take up the vote later today and President Obama has stated he will sign it.

“We needed to act immediately to answer President Obama and countless economists’ call that our nation needed both a short term recovery and a long term reinvestment. We needed to be bold and innovative and I believe this plan takes the drastic steps necessary at this critical moment in our history,” said Rep. Engel. “This package will create jobs to employ the millions who lost their jobs during the Bush years. It will lay the foundation for long-term economic health through clean energy, health care modernization, innovation and strict accountability.”

Rep. Engel added, “Unlike criticism from Republicans and some media outlets, there is no pork in this legislation, but plenty of jobs created nationwide. These are necessary programs which not only put people back to work – 215,000 jobs in New York State will be saved or created, with 7,700 of them in my district – but also prepare America for the economic challenges ahead in the coming years.”

Rep. Engel focused on the following items in the Recovery Package as being key measures for New York State and for the nation as a whole:

Medicaid and Health Information Technology Investments
Rep. Engel has been calling for increased federal Medicaid dollars for states. An estimated $87 billion in federal Medicaid dollars will go to states over the next two years and help them avoid having families lose health coverage and avoid scaling back state-based health services during these difficult times.

In addition, the Recovery Package helps bring America’s health system into the 21st Century and enables the savings of billions of dollars which are currently squandered in our health care bureaucracy. Funds will be available to healthcare providers to adopt Health Information Technology systems to bring about this modernization, which will not only save money but avoid costly medical errors. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created as a result of this technology. Additionally, health costs for the government will be reduced by $12 billion over 10 years.

The legislation also provides extended health insurance for unemployed workers under the COBRA program so laid-off workers can purchase subsidized health insurance from their former employers. H.R. 1 also invests in an aggressive Prevention and Wellness Fund to stop harmful and costly medical conditions before they happen – at great savings to our nation and at great relief to loved ones.

Tax Cuts For 95 Percent of American Workers
More than a third of the Recovery Package provides direct tax relief to 95 percent of American workers and will spur investment and job growth for American businesses. Another key part of this is the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch. The AMT was initially created to ensure high-income individuals and corporations, pay their fair share of taxes, but it was not indexed for inflation and now thousands of middle income families are penalized by it. Rep. Engel said, “There are about 38,000 families in my district, living in Rockland, Westchester and the Bronx, who will save an average of $2,400 per year as a result of this AMT patch. That amount is going to go a long way for a great many people while helping to revive the economy.”

Other tax cut provisions include:

* Making Work Pay Tax Cut – a refundable tax credit of up to $400 per worker ($800 for couples filing jointly)
* Cuts in taxes for millions from the expansion of the child tax credit
* Expansion of Earned Income Tax Credit by providing tax relief to families with three or more children and increasing marriage penalty relief.
* Tax credits for families to enable four million additional students to attend college
* Enhanced credit for first time home purchases
* Incentives to buy new cars by allowing state and local taxes to be deducted
* Temporarily suspend the taxation of some unemployment benefits.

Green Energy
Rep. Engel has long been fighting for the reduction of American dependence on foreign oil. By bolstering our alternative energy industry can not only put more Americans back to work and lower energy costs, but also improve our national security by reducing our reliance on sometimes-hostile foreign governments for oil.

Some of the provisions in the Recovery Package to provide clean, efficient American energy:

* $30 billion for energy initiatives such as a new, smart power grid, advanced battery technology, and other job-creating energy efficiency measures
* Smart Grid Investment Program to modernize the electricity grid. Rep. Engel reminds New Yorkers – and others in the region – about what happened in 2003 when the electricity grid failed.
* Supports development of advanced vehicle batteries and systems to revolutionize the way cars are powered.
* Aid to states to achieve greater energy efficiency and reduce energy usage
* $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency
* Extension of the Production Tax Credit for alternative-produced electricity
* Tax credits for promoting energy efficient homes
* Tax credits for purchasing plug-in hybrid vehicles
* Investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program which will save modest-income families on average of $350/year on heating and air conditioning costs
* $4 billion for energy efficiency in federally-supported housing programs with a focus on upgrading HUD-sponsored low-income housing.

Rep. Engel said, “There are so many other aspects to this legislation that deserves attention – including improvements in education to better prepare our next generation to compete globally, modernizing our roads, bridges, transit and waterways so we can avoid future infrastructure related tragedies such as we witnessed with the levees in New Orleans and bridge in Minnesota. The infrastructure improvements will also put millions of Americans back to work. Also, we invest in science and technology to provide jobs and advance our scientific community which has gone too long without improvements.”

“America is facing an economic crisis greater than any since the Great Depression, with a staggering 3.6 million American jobs lost since December 2007. For the first time since 1976 each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia has reported an increase in the percentage of joblessness. FDR’s New Deal helped overcome the Great Depression and this legislation will hopefully reverse the path taken by the Bush Administration,” said Rep. Engel. “This legislation has provisions to allow for unprecedented accountability to permit the government to closely follow how the money is spent and will protect whistleblowers that discover any fraud or misuse of taxpayer money.”

“We know it will take time to turn this economy around, but I am confident this package will make our economy stronger than failing to take any action,” said Rep. Engel. “Now is not the time for hand-wringing or for continuing the failed policies of the last eight years. Now is the time to join with our President and take the necessary steps to bring our nation out of this economic crisis.”