[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16079]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              JOB CREATION

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, my home State of Rhode Island, like the 
rest of the country, is facing a jobs crisis. The President put forth a 
comprehensive jobs bill which puts teachers, first responders, and 
construction workers to work and puts money in the pockets of American 
workers and employers so businesses will grow and add jobs. It also 
creates jobs by investing in America's schools.
  On a recent visit to the Henry J. Winters Elementary School in 
Pawtucket, I saw firsthand what this jobs bill could do. I saw a 
leaking roof, broken windows in kindergarten classrooms, exposed wires. 
These are the kinds of repairs that we could make if we passed the Fix 
America's Schools Today Act, which I'm cosponsoring. This Act, like the 
President's jobs bill, will provide critical funding for vital repairs 
and renovations to Winters Elementary School and schools all across 
Rhode Island and our country.
  Under the FAST Act, Rhode Island stands to receive more than $98 
million to invest in modernizing existing K-12 public school buildings 
and facilities at community colleges, putting more than 1,000 Rhode 
Islanders back to work now.
  The Jobs Act would create jobs now. It would put money into the 
pockets of working Americans now. It would give businesses job-creating 
tax breaks now, and it would provide a boost to the economy now. That's 
why we need to take action now.

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