TANNER VOTES FOR JOB CREATION IN TENNESSEE

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. John Tanner said in Congressional Record remarks that the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” will help create and save jobs in Tennessee. The bill passed the House Wednesday.

Following are remarks Congressman Tanner made in the Congressional Record as part of debate on the bill:

MR. TANNER. Madam Speaker, our nation faces very grim challenges. Families in Tennessee and across the country are struggling to make ends meet, and thousands of workers are losing their jobs. There have been hundreds of job losses announced just this week in our district in West and Middle Tennessee.

It has become clear to many of us that inaction is not an option, and that we must work to help create jobs and rebuild our economy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act addresses the immediate economic concerns of the American people and specifically Tennesseans.

This legislation could create or save more than 63,000 jobs in our state by the end of next year, according to analysis from independent economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com.

More than 95 percent of Tennessee taxpayers will receive direct tax relief – $500 for single filers and $1000 for joint-filers – in 2009 and 2010 as a result of this bill. Many students and parents will be eligible for additional tax credits to help pay for college so students are prepared to enter the job market. Thousands of Tennesseans have lost their jobs in recent months, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will ensure these hard-working men and women receive assistance while looking for new jobs.

To help create jobs, this legislation provides immediate tax cuts for Tennessee small businesses, including incentives to make the capital investments necessary for job growth. The bill allows employers unable to sustain their profits in today’s difficult economic climate to recover some past tax payments to avoid closing their doors and laying off workers.

To further encourage job creation in our area, this legislation includes more than $760 million to invest in infrastructure in Tennessee, which could help us work on dozens of important economic development improvements in West and Middle Tennessee, such as road completions, bridge repairs and other transportation projects that fuel job creation and help us recruit new industry.

As we all know, high fuel prices over the past summer contributed in part to our economic downturn. This legislation includes energy tax credits and other provisions to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil sources – which many of us see as a national security issue – and diversify our country’s energy sources to include alternative energy, such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy. This investment in our long-term energy future will also provide immediate and much-needed jobs in construction and engineering.

Tennessee faces one of the largest budget deficits in our state’s history, which will lead to drastic reductions in the level of service to state taxpayers, including possible cuts in the important economic development investments that help create jobs. This legislation will help our state meet some of those needs for Tennesseans. The bill also expands local cities’ and counties’ access to tax credit bonds for investments in schools, infrastructure, conservation and job training.

At the request of those of us in the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, this bill no longer includes some provisions that many of us felt were unrelated to the immediate needs of our country’s economy. In particular, we insisted that the House remove language funding contraceptives and new sod on the National Mall outside the U.S. Capitol Building. These expenditures were clearly not related to short-term economic growth and did not need to be addressed in legislation designed to address immediate needs.

The Blue Dog Coalition also saw this dialogue as an opportunity to talk with the new Administration about our country’s fiscal situation. We have been assured that President Obama shares our commitment to long-term fiscal reform and will work with us to weed out waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in federal government spending after our country has begun to overcome these most extraordinary challenges.

In a letter to Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and others, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag wrote that “[p]utting the country back on the path of fiscal responsibility will mean tough choices and difficult trade-offs, but for the long-term health of our economy, the President believes that they must be made.” I look forward to talking more with President Obama about these shared goals.

I realize that no member of this body – myself included – will be entirely pleased with this bill as we are voting on it today. After some improvements I discussed before and much reflection, however, I have come to the conclusion that this House must take action to help the American people meet the financial challenges facing them. For that reason, I rise to support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and am optimistic that it will help save and create Tennessee jobs.

Tanner, a founding member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, represents Tennessee’s 8^th Congressional district in West and Middle Tennessee. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Social Security. Tanner also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

# # #

Contact: Randy Ford, 202.225.4714