[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT

  (Mr. PERLMUTTER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PERLMUTTER. Madam Speaker, we just can't ignore the facts. The 
facts are, we lost 600,000 jobs last month and the prior month and the 
prior month, and some 3.6 million jobs last year. Banks have failed. We 
have had a real contraction in the economy. My friends on the 
Republican side of the aisle, their position is, ``Just say no. We like 
the status quo.''
  We can't afford the status quo anymore, ladies and gentlemen. We must 
act. This is a time for bold action, and in the Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act we will maintain or create somewhere between 3 million 
and 4 million jobs in the construction industry and the energy 
industry; we will maintain jobs of teachers and firefighters and 
policemen. We will pass this bill today in the House of 
Representatives, and I am glad, because in Colorado we need this 
effort, we need these jobs, and so does the rest of the Nation.

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