Reactions to House Passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Reactions to House passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1)

1. PRESS RELEASE from the White House, Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release January 28, 2009

STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT ON THE HOUSE PASSAGE OF THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT

“Last year, America lost 2.6 million jobs. On Monday alone, we learned that some of our biggest employers plan to cut another 55,000. This is a wakeup call to Washington that the American people need us to act and act immediately.

That is why I am grateful to the House of Representatives for moving the American Recovery and Reinvestment plan forward today. There are many numbers in this plan. It will double our capacity to generate renewable energy. It will lower the cost of health care by billions and improve its quality. It will modernize thousands of classrooms and send more kids to college. And it will put billions of dollars in immediate tax relief into the pockets of working families.

But out of all these numbers, there is one that matters most to me: this recovery plan will save or create more than three million new jobs over the next few years.

I can also promise that my administration will administer this recovery plan with a level of transparency and accountability never before seen in Washington. Once it is passed, every American will be able to go the website recovery.gov and see how and where their money is being spent.

The plan now moves to the Senate, and I hope that we can continue to strengthen this plan before it gets to my desk. But what we can’t do is drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way. We must move swiftly and boldly to put Americans back to work, and that is exactly what this plan begins to do.”

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2. PRESS RELEASE from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

For Immediate Release
01/28/2009

Pelosi Statement on House Passage of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement this evening after the House of Representatives approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by a vote of 244 to 188:

“Today’s vote is a victory for the American people. As the President urged us to do in his Inaugural Address just eight days ago, the House is taking action, ‘bold and swift,’ by passing a bill to create and save 3 to 4 million jobs.

"This is a bill about the future and about how we create jobs for today’s workers and for the next generation. It provides tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans, invests in science and innovation, in energy, in health care, in education — all with strict accountability and fiscal responsibility.

"I look forward to swift Senate passage and for President Obama to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law before the Presidents’ Day recess."

Washington, Jan 28 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after the House advanced a trillion dollar spending bill authored solely by congressional Democratic leaders:

“This was a bipartisan rejection of a partisan bill. Families and small businesses across America are struggling, and they are counting on their leaders in Washington for ways to strengthen our economy. House Republicans want to work with congressional Democrats on legislation that fulfills the goal set by President Obama: crafting a bipartisan plan focused on job creation. Unfortunately, the trillion dollar government spending bill before the House today was not that plan, and a bipartisan coalition of Members rightfully rejected it. It is time for Capitol Hill Democrats to finally work with Republicans on a job creation package that lets families and small businesses keep more of what they earn and that is supported by the bipartisan majority that the American people expect on an issue so important.”

NOTE: No House Republicans voted for the legislation, while eleven Democrats crossed party lines to vote against it. Earlier today on the House floor, Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Ways & Means Committee Ranking Republican Dave Camp (R-MI) offered a House GOP economic recovery plan that will create 6.2 million new American jobs over the next two years, according to a methodology used by President Obama’s own nominee as Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, Dr. Christina Romer. House Democrats rejected the plan.