Says Mix of Job-Creating Investments, Business-Friendly Tax Credits and Long-Term Budget and Deficit Reform Will Yield Dividends for the Garden State
TRENTON – State Senator Paul A. Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic, the Chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement today in support of President Obama’s plan to rebuild the nation’s economy and put Americans back to work:
“Last week’s address to Congress was certainly a rallying point to rebuild our economy, and President Obama’s comprehensive plan will move us in the right direction. Obviously, the economic crisis we’re living in was not created overnight, and we need to take a serious, all-encompassing and long-term approach to fixing the problems which undermine our nation’s economic well-being.
“The President outlined a multipronged proposal which will ensure immediate relief and long-term, nation-wide recovery and stability.
“By making an investment in public transportation infrastructure, the President hopes to spur the construction industries while making some needed upgrades to our decaying roads, rails and bridges. In North Jersey specifically, we know that upgrades are long overdue, and will create a safer and less congested travelling experience to allow people to get where they need to go.
“By investing millions in New Jersey schools, we can create state-of-the-art classrooms, keep quality teachers on the job, and prepare our students for the future.
“By cutting taxes on small businesses and providing tax credits for job creation, we’re freeing them up to hire more out-of-work New Jerseyans.
“And by committing to system-wide changes and overdue reform of the federal government’s dysfunctional budgeting process, we can create tax equity for working class Americans, eliminate earmarks which put a premium on politics over policy, and reduce, if not eliminate the federal deficit for future generations.
“In New Jersey, Legislative Democrats are already pushing a jobs agenda designed to put people back to work. In conjunction with the President’s American Jobs Act, we can position the Garden State for meaningful economic recovery. I urge Republicans at the State and federal level to work with us to make a difference in our state and national economic outlook. Let’s get to work.”
Senator Sarlo added that, according to an economic analysis conducted by the White House, the American Jobs Act would result in the following:
• Under the President’s jobs plan, payroll taxes for small businesses would be cut in half to 3.1 percent. In New Jersey, 200,000 businesses would be able to take advantage of the reduced payroll tax under the American Jobs Act. The tax cut would also impact workers and their families. A typical household in New Jersey with a median income of $65,000 will receive a tax cut of around $2,020 as a result of the payroll tax cut.
• The President’s plan includes $50 billion in immediate investments for highways, transit, rail and aviation projects, which will modernize our nation’s transportation infrastructure and bolster the construction trades. New Jersey is set to receive at least $1.325 billion for transportation upgrades, resulting in approximately 17,200 local construction jobs.
• The American Jobs Act includes $35 billion to prevent lay-offs for teachers, cops and firefighters. New Jersey will see $831 million of that amount, to support up to 9,300 education and first responder jobs.
• Beyond funding teachers’ jobs, the President has proposed spending $25 billion to modernize crumbling public schools, and an additional $5 billion for facilities modernization at community colleges. New Jersey could receive $642 million to modernize our schools and give students the tools they need to be competitive in the workforce of tomorrow.
• By implementing sweeping reforms to the nation’s unemployment insurance (UI) system, the President hopes to transition many long-term unemployed workers back to the workplace. This would help 216,000 New Jerseyans get back to work.
• In addition to reforming UI, the President has urged Congress to extend unemployment insurance, providing an essential safety net program for 104,300 people looking for work in New Jersey.
• The provisions of the American Jobs Act would be fully paid for by deficit reduction, and will result in increased economic activity without burdening future generations of Americans with the bill.