Jeff Merkley is a Tonic for Working Families

Jeff Merkley of Oregon voted for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today. He's proud of his vote to help working families. From his press office today:

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act invests billions in upgrading our nation’s transportation infrastructure, promoting the development and production of green energy, and repairing public buildings to immediately create or save jobs. The legislation will also cut taxes for 95 percent of workers and their families, including tax credits of $500 per worker or $1000 per family.

A third component of the bill provides vital funding for states to prevent state layoffs and ensure the continuation of important health, education and housing services. While this portion had been reduced under a compromise negotiated last week, Senator Merkley yesterday wrote to the chairs of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees urging them to restore much of the funding for states and school construction during negotiations with the House in order to help states stave off catastrophic service cuts or tax hikes.

“We can and should make improvements so that it is even more effective and provides more help to states to preserve jobs and services, and I’ll be working with leaders in the Senate to make that happen,” said Merkley. In his letter, Merkley also pushed to increase funding in the final bill for green energy initiatives.