Pass the Jobs and Economic Recovery Plan
December 18, 2008
This entry by AFSCME President Gerald McEntee was originally posted on The Huffington Post.
This morning, more than 20 leading progressive organizations and unions, including AFSCME, announced the creation of the Campaign for Jobs and Economic Recovery Now, a major campaign to pass President-elect Obama's jobs and economic recovery package.
The President-elect's dramatic, bold and innovative program is a clear sign that the change he promised in his campaign has arrived. In contrast to a Bush administration that told struggling families "you're on your own" for the last eight years, the Obama-Biden administration is saying "we're in this together." We're going to need to work together to get out of this mess. It won't be easy, but it can be done. We fought to win the November election, and we're going to fight to pass this emergency legislation and put America back to work.
President-elect Obama understands that we need to fast-track improvements in our roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure. He knows that public investments create jobs and help the economy in the long-run. He also recognizes that there needs for accountability, which is why his people are working closely with the nation's governors and mayors to identify projects that are called "shovel-ready," and are based on national priorities and not political considerations.
I'm very pleased that the jobs and economic recovery plan includes additional federal resources for the vital health care and family services that states and localities provide for their citizens. We're talking about law enforcement, education, health care and other vital services. These programs are particularly important during difficult economic times. President-elect Obama and Vice-President-elect Biden understand that we can't recover from this mess and put people back to work if we are gutting the public services that are vital to our communities.
We have a big task ahead of us. This bill needs to pass through Congress fast. Every day of delay is a day when more Americans get a pink slip, when more communities see stores shuttering their doors, when more families find the American Dream growing dimmer and farther from their grasp. Congress has got to pass President-elect Obama's plan, the sooner the better.
