WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today the House of Representatives passed the final conference version of H.R. 1, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to jumpstart the economy and create millions of jobs, by a vote of 246 to 183. Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, voted for the bill.
“Jobs, jobs, jobs. That is job number one for this Congress,” Rep. Becerra said on the floor of the House preceding today’s vote. “That is the job that President Obama said is the first order of business this year for this body. Good paying jobs, 21st century jobs, jobs that invest in and rebuild our schools, our roads, our bridges and keep firefighters, teachers and police officers helping our communities. We are hemorrhaging 500,000 to 600,000 jobs a month. That means that in the next two minutes, 28 Americans will have lost their jobs. Our constituents are asking us to do something now.
“President Obama has said that we need bold, swift action to move us into 21st century jobs, using the technology of this century. This bill invests $20 billion to help our doctors who today are communicating with technology that is more obsolete than what our kids use every day when they communicate with each other. Our children are talking to each other during their breaks in school, yet most doctors can't communicate with each other about what their patients need.
“We all have proposals and we all made compromises, but the task is before us today. Every day we don't do something, jobs are lost.”
Click here to view Rep. Becerra’s floor speech.
Among its many provisions, H.R. 1 Provides $19 billion to accelerate adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT) systems by doctors and hospitals, in order to modernize the health care system, save billions of dollars, reduce medical errors and improve quality, while strengthening federal privacy and security law to protect personally identifiable health information from misuse and abuse. CBO estimates this will reduce health costs for the federal government by $12 billion over 10 years.
The bill also protects health care coverage for millions of Americans during this recession, by providing an estimated $87 billion over the next two years in additional federal matching funds to help states maintain their Medicaid programs in the face of massive state budget shortfalls and provides a 65% subsidy for COBRA premiums for up to 9 months for workers affected by the recession.
The package prevents teacher layoffs and other cutbacks in education and other key services, by establishing a $53.6 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, including $39.5 billion to local school districts using existing funding formulas, which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization, or other purposes. $5 billion is provided to states as bonus grants for meeting key performance measures in education. $8.8 billion goes to states for high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education and for modernization, renovation, and repairs of public school facilities and institutions of higher education facilities.
This economic recovery package will create and save 3.5 million jobs by doing the work that America needs done, making us more globally competitive and energy independent, and transforming our economy in the process. The bill gives 95 percent of American workers an immediate tax cut. It invests in roads, bridges, mass transit, energy efficient buildings, flood control, clean water projects, and other infrastructure projects.
The legislation restores science and innovation as the keys to new American-made technology, preventing and treating disease, and tackling urgent national challenges like climate change and dependence on foreign oil, and makes these investments quickly.
Click here to learn more about the American Reinvestment and Recovery Plan.
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