Senator Mikulski on the Stimulus

Senator Mikulski finally responded to my letter on the stimlus. Here it is.

Dear Mr. Wolfe:

Thank you for getting in touch with me about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5). It's good to hear from you.

I appreciate hearing your views about this issue. We have inherited a terrible mess, our economy is teetering, and we need to work together to get out of it.

President Obama and Congress have taken a major step forward by enacting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Only a few weeks into a new Congress and a new Administration, we stood up for America and enacted the most significant economic stimulus legislation in our nation's history. By standing with President Obama, we stand up for America to create jobs for people who have lost them and to help those who have jobs keep them. This really is about jobs, jobs, jobs.

The ARRA creates jobs by investing in our infrastructure. It fixes aging physical infrastructure like roads, bridges, public transit and water systems. It invests in the technological infrastructure like broadband to expand small businesses. And it makes major improvements to our social infrastructure by investing in education so that families and local school districts can help special needs children, extending unemployment insurance for struggling families, and increasing federal assistance for the Medicaid program so states won't cut care for seniors and the poor. It also has targeted tax breaks to help families and small businesses.

I'm heartened that my automobile amendment was included in this legislation. It makes state sales or excise car tax deductible for all new cars purchased before the end of this year. It helps consumers and it helps save jobs in the automobile industry. From the salesman who sells the car, to the manufacturers who make it, to the mechanic who fixes it, and office managers who process the paperwork.

Last month 598,000 people lost their jobs, so this bill is a victory for America. It stimulates the economy today and lays the groundwork for a stronger economy tomorrow.

For more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, you may be interested in the White House website http://www.recovery.gov, where you can read the full text of the legislation and see how the money is being spent.

Thanks again for getting in touch with me about these issues. Knowing of your views was helpful to me. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in the future.

Sincerely, Barbara A. MikulskiUnited States Senator

P.S. If I can be of further assistance in the future,please visit my website at http://mikulski.senate.govor call my Washington D.C. office at 202-224-4654