Almost $900 Million and Counting with Many of Norton's Priorities in Stimulus Bill (1/28/09)
Almost $900 Million and Counting with Many of Norton's Priorities in Stimulus Bill Passed Today
January 28, 2009
Washington, D.C. - Today, after voting against harmful amendments in the stimulus bill on the House Floor, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) joined a majority of her colleagues in support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes $7.7 billion under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, which she chairs. Congresswoman Norton's office is still calculating the numbers, and the Senate still has to come forward with its proposal, but her office calculates that the District stands to receive almost $900 million under the House passed version. Out of the approximately $900 million for the District, Norton said there will be $148 million for school renovations and a tremendous showing from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, that allocated almost $376 million for transportation infrastructure improvements here. District residents will also benefit from tax credits for public housing repairs, for weatherizing modest-income homes, local schools, and incentives to hire unemployed veterans and disconnected youth, and tax credits for school construction bonds, tax credits for investment in economic development zones, and for energy efficient improvements. GSA projects will greatly benefit the District, with many federal buildings located here. Norton's $7.2 billion for GSA for alterations, maintenance and repair, will lead to long-term energy cost savings that will create thousands of jobs. She has put special emphasis on the local jobs including her existing requirement for apprenticeships in all proposals in the national capitol region, along with language to be included in the final bill for on-the-job training skills in the construction, repair, and alteration of federal public buildings. "Today, we moved one step closer to remedying this baffling and painful economic crisis, the worse we have seen since the Great Depression," Norton said of the House approval of the stimulus plan, written in collaboration with the new administration. "With this action, we can create jobs and lay the foundation to jump start growth with action where it will do the most good."
Norton voted against amendments that would effectively gut the stimulus bill, and remove $800 million for Amtrak which always gets special attention from her. She sharply criticized the removal of the $250 million for revitalization of the National Mall and she was grateful that Appropriations Chair Dave Obey (D-WI) and Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (WA) will continue fighting for the Mall until they get this urgently needed funding. Norton said "After withstanding the inauguration onslaught, and 8,000 events a year, with tourists from around the country, it's amazing that this allocation would be demagogued out of the stimulus package by the opposition." Norton said that the Mall funding was pulled on the Floor to quiet detractors, but believes now that it has Obey's and Dick's full support, the funding for the National Mall will be forthcoming soon - and will also address her bill to make the Mall a more user friendly place, save the Jefferson monument from rapidly sinking and create a variety of jobs here.
The Congresswoman, who has been working with District officials to ensure District ready-to-go projects were considered in the development of the Recovery Plan, cited several projects that may benefit from the plan passed today.