One year ago, we squared off against the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression with a comprehensive recovery package to help America get back on track. In the year since President Obama signed it into law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has cushioned the blow of the economic downturn by creating jobs, funding improvements to our infrastructure and spurring economic growth.
And now we're seeing some signs of hope. In the fourth quarter, our economy experienced its biggest growth in six years. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has identified as many as 2.4 million jobs credited to the Recovery Act. Recovery funds are providing help on all fronts:
- $100 billion in tax cuts for American businesses and 95 percent of working families
- $60 billion in funding for education, supporting 300,000 education jobs across the country
- 42,000 small business loans
- 55,000 Recovery projects - creating jobs and laying a foundation for growth
Projects like these are making a real difference in New Mexico. I spent the beginning of this week in southern New Mexico and checked up on some of the great projects the Recovery Act has supported there. Here's a snapshot of the Recovery effort in Deming and Lordsburg:
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Spruce Street, the main artery through Deming's historical district is being reconstructed, employing 20 people and enhancing economic development. |
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The Community Action Agency can now double the number of homes that it weatherizes this year - 393 homes! |
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The Luna County Sheriff's Department is better able to fight crime with a new interrogation room, night vision equipment and laptop computers for patrol cars. |
But the reality is that we've still got a long way to go. The Recovery Act was designed to be a gradual source of funding, so the money that has been invested is continuing to flow to sustain our economic growth. I'm taking note of the projects that have been working throughout New Mexico as we move forward with more legislation to create jobs around the country.
To learn more about the Recovery Act and projects across New Mexico, visit my Recovery page .
Here are a couple links to what I've been reading about the Recovery Act, one year in:
New York Times: Judging Stimulus by Job Data Reveals Success
Washington Post: The Big Story on the Stimulus
USA Today: Assessing the Recovery Act: 'The best is yet to come'
