How a Bill Becomes a Job

Last time I posted here, Congress was embroiled in a vigorous debate about whether to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Opponents were fighting tooth and nail against the bill deeming certain parts of the package "wasteful spending." One of the programs opponents were calling wasteful was funding to restore forest health and prevent wildfires.

I vehemently disagreed that it was wasteful to improve forest health by clearing out forests that have become overgrown, choked, or diseased because of poor and unnatural forest management practices. This work helps restore eco-systems and wildlife habitat to their natural condition, protects local communities from wildfires and creates jobs. Working with my colleagues in Congress, we kept the wildfire prevention funding in the final legislation.

Now we're able to see the first results of those efforts.

The Forest Service has begun the process of awarding contracts for forest health projects. In Oregon, they've already allocated over $10 million with more to come. The Medford Mail Tribune recently looked at how $3 million of those funds will be used. They found that because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 150 people will be put to work promoting forest health and helping prevent wildfires in Southern Oregon, with some of those people to start work immediately. Many of these jobs are coming to Jackson County, which currently has a 14 percent unemployment rate.

Moreover, the businesses awarded the contracts are upgrading and replacing equipment. One business owner said he'd already purchased six new trucks and "30 chain saws, fire clothes, boots and other supplies" from local stores. That's great news for the store owners who may have been facing falling sales and their own tough choices.

In short, the recovery package is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing: investing in long-neglected projects; creating jobs; and spurring demand in local economies.

Now, 150 new jobs in two counties in Southern Oregon may not sound like a lot, but in small timber towns like the one I was born in, it's a big deal. These are jobs that will help families make ends meet and put food on the table.

And keep in mind that those jobs are the result of just a portion of funds in one part of one state from one program dealing with forest health. If you multiply the effects many times over for the jobs created through other forest health projects, energy conservation programs, improvements at veterans' facilities, mass transit construction, roads work and investments in health and education and you'll see major opportunities for job growth around the country.

Apparently, to the opponents of the recovery act, these jobs are waste. If it were up to them, these jobs would never have come to Oregon and that's a shame.

Now those same opponents are trotting out their same tired arguments again, opposing the President's budget. I'm sure they'll fight against investing in our future by helping spur a green energy economy and providing universal, affordable health care for all Americans. Again they're saying that investments in our future are "wasteful." They're embracing the phony math of the Bush years to try to caricature a bold plan to meet our nation's challenges head-on.

We can't allow these opponents of solutions and reform to set the terms of the debate. We need to take the offensive against the ideology that torpedoed our economy. We need to challenge opponents to justify their opposition to restructuring our energy economy, their opposition to improving health care and education, and their opposition to creating jobs.

The netroots have been great in voicing their support of the economic recovery package as well as putting pressure on Congress to keep important programs in the bill. We have plenty of tough battles coming around the bend on mortgage reform, universal health care, fighting global warming, and - most immediately -- the budget that makes it all possible. We'll need your energy and passion to help set the record straight about these priorities.

No amount of political posturing or rhetoric will stop me from doing whatever I can to promote job-creating programs, both to strengthen working families and to break the vicious vortex destroying our economy. We need to put our nation back on the path of long term, broadly shared economic growth. What matters most to me is doing what I was elected to do: help make life better for Oregonians and making America work for working Americans again. I look forward to partnering with all of you to keep fighting for change.

Comments

[laucarlson]

Ironically, many of the newly created jobs will go to people who voted Republican.

[sofloridafan]

Thank you sir for your work in passing this ARARA. In todays enviorment any job sustainable or not is sorely needed. Please continue your work for an universial health care program as we will never rebuild the american industrial base with the current un-level playing ground faced by our domestic manufactures. As someone who deals with the goverment I also know how the last few years have been troubling, as the prior administration has gutted certain departments in the name of small goverment. We only see evidence of this when something big happens like e-coili in peanut products.

I am hoping you have the opportunity to read these comments and if so I would like to make you aware there are remenants of the prior admistration who are continuing in this manner and are standing in the way of job creation and opportunity. I have tried reaching out and have not been able to get any traction. Can you help?

[ev19]

$800 billion dollars
4 million jobs created (hopefully)
$200,000/job created
sure looks like government efficiency to me
continue the logic - who pays for the jobs, services, etc. when the government money runs out?
This is the problem with arguing the government creates jobs in the private sector. Unless you create a sound business, jobs will disolve in the private sector without continued sustenance(aka private demand for whatever good/service being offered)
The "recovery" bill was just a bandaid. You'd been better served giving 4 million poor people $200,000

[VikingQuest]

"who pays for the jobs, services, etc. when the government money runs out?"

A good question that people never ask because they know the answer:

1. Lay them off

2. Borrow more money from China and rack up more debt

[lightningbolt]

The government has run out of money a long time ago, but it doesn't matter. The Fed will just print more money or the treasury will borrow it from China.
We would not be better served by giving 4 million people 200k. We need someone to plan the spending of this money so that it actually improves our future. 4 million people will have 4 million different plans for spending the money, and many will just squander it on something that does not help them or the community. The stimulus is planned so that the money spent will create economic growth in the future and help prevent a total economic collapse. Also, if you make people WORK for the 200k, the country will get something in return for that money. If you just give them the money, you get nothing in return.

[johnsopinion]

"opponents of solutions" prefer to stay mired in past failures.
For them, they were and still are the obstacles to be overcome.
But then, of course, that's how this country was established
and grew, wasn't it? That's why kids go to school, to study
past failures, isn't it? That's what our educations system is
based on, last semesters "C's," isn't it? That's why you get up
each morning, to re-attack yesterdays failures, isn't it?

[rsprags]

Great article and this is what I voted for in November. 8 year of defense department excesses and wall street deregulation has lead to our current system. It wii take time to see all the pieces of the agenda working together!

[jhamm1]

We hope and pray that it will, but today it is still just a bill.

[dadw5boys]

Organ Loggers now working to save the Forrest ?????

Must drive them crazy they can't cut every tree in sight !

.

[amadorjon]

sorry, thats a fairly generalized (eastern I'm sure) view of loggers...­.....

many of them are old hippies with an almost animistic respect for the woods and the natural world around them (my father happens to be one of them)

I was raised out there in the woods and spent half my childhood in logging camps, and I will say, many of these stereotypes about loggers being dumb or bloodthirsty for timber are very untrue, i met some of the smartest men in my life out there, though their circumstasnces precluded them ever going to college (alot of oakies kids that survived the great depression and went to work!)

[amadorjon]

soory, but I still see a hell of a lot of construction workers and loggers out of work in the west, Sierra Pacific just announced two more mill closures last week....

and with an impending drought, it threatens to hurt agriculture as well......­....

so while we prepare to stand in soup lines, obama threatens to let industries like manufacturing fail while he (and your senate cronies) inject a trillion dollars into banking, and let bonuses stand???????

not change I can believe in! looks more like the same failed capitalism from the east coast elitists!

aig bonuses, office decor for merril lynch, big payrolls for Bank of America, and when an industry that helped america defeat facism and tyranny asks for a few percent of the totals you guys gave wall street, you ask them why they didnt drive and treat them with scorn! ok to save new york, but screw middle america...­.

I didnt vote for this

[thinkagain2]

I live in the heart of the midwest. Within the past week, a low income housing project I'm working on received funds from the stimulus package to cover the difference between the original under estimated HUD grant and the real cost of construction. The project will go forward, extending my endangered employment, providing a number of construction jobs, management funds for getting the facility open, and very much needed housing in an underserved market. which will generate income for building another facility nearby.

From my point of view, this is a very good thing that effects a large number of people this week (literally) and for years to come. Believe me, not one person involved in the project will get rich, but we all have a bit more work to do, the community benefits and future projects become plausible. That is exactly what the stimulus bill is intended to do,. Stop the bleeding and let the healing begin.

[KrystynM]

Maybe you should be concerned with your local leadership and not Obama, and stop blaming the East Coast for your problems!

[amadorjon]

wheres all the bailouts going?

where did the problem manifest itself?

it's not a local problem, its a global one, and it can be attributed to a few people in New York City!!!!!