[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 44 (Thursday, March 12, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H3379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BUILDING TO FIX THE ECONOMY

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE. Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important as we 
begin to build the building blocks of fixing this economy that maybe we 
should give a greater understanding of what the stimulus dollars are to 
be utilized for.
  There are Congresspersons and Senators and Governors and State 
legislators and others, but the President's intent, the 
administration's intent is these dollars are to be in the hands of 
taxpayers.
  The good news for those who have been criticizing is the Dow went up 
this week, and the Governors of the Nation were in Washington to get 
their instructions on how to make sure that these grants and these 
moneys are transparent, to make sure that grants are competitive and, 
yes, that the dollars are in the hands of small businesses; of primary 
and secondary schools; of hospitals; of municipal governments; of 
putting shovel in the ground, if you will, fixing utilities, fixing 
roads.
  That should be the message and the work of those of us who serve in 
the United States Congress. It's my intent to be at home educating 
those of my constituents on how to use this money effectively.
  The only way that they will be successful is if they can count jobs 
one at a time. That's what the President wants. That's what we are 
doing. And those who are criticizing need to look at the people who are 
now working.

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