On the recordOctober 11, 2011
this evening, I cast my vote in favor of the Senate moving forward with critical job-creation legislation. With 61,000 Rhode Islanders and millions of Americans currently looking for jobs, we must take swift action to help put people back to work. Sadly, as they have all-too-many times this Congress, Republicans chose to obstruct our efforts by blocking us from even debating the American Jobs Act. This filibuster is particularly disappointing because the American Jobs Act, as introduced in the Senate by Leader Reid, represents a balanced and already-tested approach to job creation. Indeed, the bill includes a host of provisions that have received wide bipartisan support in the past. It may not be the exact bill each of us would draft on our own, but it is a thoughtful and reasonable place to begin working on a Senate jobs plan. I say the bill is ``balanced'' because it includes a full range of job-creating provisions from tax credits to help businesses hire, to infrastructure programs that will put people to work updating and upgrading our roads, bridges, and schools. In addition to being ``balanced,'' I say the American Jobs Act is ``tested'' because it includes programs that have worked in the past. For example, the Federal Highway Administration estimated that $1 billion invested in our highways supports about 28,000 jobs. That means that the President's proposed investment of $27 billion would generate or save over 750,000 jobs.…





