“Although our nation is currently confronting economic challenges on numerous fronts, I believe that in President Obama’s first month in office, he has set our country back on the right track. We have already moved significantly away from the policies of the former administration, whose excessive reliance on tax cuts for the wealthy, lax oversight of the financial industry, and terribly expensive war in Iraq drove the nation into terrible financial straights.  Tonight, however, I believe that our country has already turned the corner and is headed towards economic recovery.

Indeed, as the President has demonstrated tonight through his explanation of the administration’s economic recovery plan, which consists of: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; greater financial stability by enforcing greater accountability of the banking industry; ensuring credit flows once again to American families and small businesses; and keeping families in their homes while deterring future home values from dropping and assisting homeowners to refinance at lower rates, although not an immediate panacea, will, in the long term, return our nation to fiscal health and put Americans back to work.

Certainly, insofar as the stimulus package is concerned, Congress took the first very concrete step in delivering on the President's promise to get the economy back on track earlier this month.  Indeed, the economic stimulus and recovery package is already creating jobs, as well as laying a foundation for long-term growth through clean energy, innovation and education.  Indisputably, our nation is facing an economic crisis greater than any since the Great Depression, with a staggering 2.6 million American jobs lost in the last year and an unemployment rate in my state of Florida that has climbed to above 8%, and is in desperate need of repair. 

As the Chair of the Railroad subcommittee of the House Transportation Committee, I advocated for a dramatic increase in transportation dollars to be included in the final stimulus bill.  Certainly, transportation funding will allow the country to begin making much needed investment in infrastructure to meet the current and future needs of the traveling public.  The money provided for highway and bridge construction, for example, will help repair crumbling roads and bridges, while the transit funding will improve and expand bus and transit systems throughout the United States.  I am especially pleased with the increased funding for Amtrak ($1.3 billion), as well as greater investment in High Speed Rail ($8 billion), which will give our nation a transportation facelift!  All of these programs will help improve congestion and provide additional transportation options, and, more importantly with respect to propelling the economy forward:  for every one billion dollars invested in transportation and infrastructure funding, 47,000 jobs are created.

I look forward to working with President Obama and his administration, and am extremely thankful to be able to work with a President that incorporates and respects the ideas and policies of the legislative branch of government.”

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