Washington, DC--Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) announced that the Recovery Act has created or saved over 3 million jobs nationwide, including more than 206,000 jobs in New York State, during the second quarter of 2010.  This is further proof that the Act is working to bring America out of the great recession.  The latest quarterly report from the Council on Economic Advisers shows that our economy is on track to create an additional 500,000 jobs nationwide by the end of the year.

“We already knew that the Recovery Act lowered taxes for 98% of Americans. Now we know it is responsible for creating or saving more jobs than originally thought. My number one priority is keeping jobs in this country and putting New Yorkers back to work,” said Rep. Engel.  “Eight years of failed economic policies pushed our economy to the brink of disaster, and the Recovery Act is digging us out of Bush’s recession.  We still have a long way to go to put more Americans back to work, but we’re clearly moving in the right direction.”

These job figures were released this week in the latest quarterly report by the Council on Economic Advisers (CEA which estimated that the Recovery Act has raised the GDP by 3 percent, and has spurred economic development and private investment across the country. 

Thanks to the public-private partnerships included in the Recovery Act, for every dollar spent on renewable energy and other projects, the private sector is spending $3.  For example, a $4.5 billion public investment in smart grid technology has led to over $10 billion in total investments in these projects.  A $6 billion investment for building construction has supported nearly $30 billion of economic activity.

“I want to see ‘Made in America’ make a comeback,” said Rep. Engel.  “America can and should be a global leader in cutting-edge industries like clean energy and high-tech.  The Recovery Act is sparking American innovation, creating jobs immediately and making our economy stronger for the future.”

In addition to cutting taxes for working Americans, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offered tax cuts and loans to millions of small businesses, extended unemployment and COBRA health benefits for those looking for work.  The Act also laid a new foundation for our economy with key investments in high speed rail, clean and efficient energy, high-speed broadband and wireless communications, and electronic medical records. 

Congress is working to create jobs and put our economy on a sound foundation for the future. In addition to the Recovery Act, the House passed the Jobs for Main Street Act last December, and in March we passed, and the President signed into law, the HIRE Act. These bills included critical investments in small businesses, state infrastructure projects such as school construction, and support for job training programs and keeping police and firefighters on the street and teachers in classrooms.  The President also signed into law an historic health care reform bill that will create four million jobs over the next decade.

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