[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2172-S2173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ECONOMIC STIMULUS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I wish to state my strong support of the 
economic recovery plan because the American people and their 
communities need it to create jobs, to stabilize the economy, and to 
protect those who have been most hurt by the current global economic 
and financial crises.
  Many Americans, especially my fellow Vermonters who have watched this 
process, look at the resistance the economic recovery plan has met from 
many on the other side of the aisle, and they are somewhat dispirited. 
They remember how readily Congress rubberstamped hundreds of billions 
of dollars the previous administration earmarked for Iraq. Now they see 
how difficult it has been to get bipartisan approval for investments 
here at home that are desperately needed to jump start an economy that 
is in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great 
Depression.
  I call on fellow Senators--who were willing and eager to vote for 
billions of dollars to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq, who were 
willing to vote for billions of dollars to create jobs in Iraq, who 
were willing to vote for billions of dollars to help law enforcement in 
Iraq--to focus on the needs we have here at home. Let's spend some of 
that money in America to repair our infrastructure, to create jobs in 
America, and to help law enforcement in America.
  No one disputes the clear fact that we are confronting the most 
severe economic problem we have had in generations. The U.S. economy 
has been in recession since December 2007. America's GDP declined 3.8 
percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the steepest drop since 1982. 
The United States lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most since 1945. 
Last week we learned the U.S. economy shed almost 600,000 jobs in 
January, putting the unemployment rate at 7.6 percent.
  In Vermont, not only has the amount of credit available to small 
businesses shrunk significantly, but our unemployment rate jumped to 
6.4 percent in December. That is the highest it has been in 15 years. 
Vermont is not alone in this struggle. Workers, businesses, State and 
local governments all across the country face mounting debt, slumping 
orders, and sagging budgets.
  To respond to this extraordinary crisis, I agree with President Obama 
and the vast majority of Americans that we have to act quickly and 
responsibly to pass an economic recovery and job creation plan as bold 
as the challenges we face. Americans want jobs. They want to work. They 
want to support their families. We have to help create those jobs. If 
we act now to strengthen our economy and invest in America's future, we 
can create good-paying jobs, we can cut taxes for working families, and 
we can make responsible investments in our future.
  Our first priority should be to put America back to work. This 
economic recovery plan will help create or save over three million 
jobs, including an entire generation of green jobs that will make 
public and private investments in renewable energy and make America 
more energy efficient.
  Investing in our country's infrastructure and education will do more 
than create jobs today--it can put us on a long-term path toward 
prosperity. Rebuilding our roads and bridges, expanding broadband 
access to rural communities; making our energy grid smart

[[Page S2173]]

and more efficient; creating state-of-the-art classrooms and labs and 
libraries; and investing in job training that Americans will need to 
succeed in the 21st century global economy will give us tangible assets 
we can use for years to come to foster additional economic growth.
  As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I would like to 
highlight that the funding for State and local law enforcement in this 
recovery package will not only help to address vital crime prevention 
needs, but it will have an immediate and positive impact on the 
economy, as police chiefs and experts from across the country told the 
Judiciary Committee in its first hearing this year. Hiring new police 
officers will stimulate the economy and lead to safer communities and 
neighborhoods.
  Nobody thinks this bill is perfect. We could write 100 different 
perfect bills based on our own analysis. But America is hurting, and 
Americans urgently need our help. I believe this economic recovery 
package will make a timely and constructive difference across the 
country by creating and saving jobs, making needed infrastructure 
investments, reducing the tax burden on struggling families, and 
relieving the strain on State budget deficits.
  Vermonters are watching and waiting. Working families across the 
country are watching and waiting. Time is running out. I will vote aye.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana is recognized.

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