Blog Post

This afternoon, the House will begin general debate on H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The House will consider amendments and final passage on Wednesday. This legislation will create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, rebuilding America, making us more globally competitive and energy independent, and transforming our economy for long-term growth; give 95 percent of American workers an immediate tax cut; and invest quickly in the economy.

Read about each of the key areas of the bill in our current legislation section:

This week, the House will vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, working from priorities shared with President Barack Obama.

The plan will create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, jumpstart our economy, and transform it for the 21st century.

Unprecedented accountability and transparency measures are built in to help ensure tax dollars are spent wisely. $550 billion is strategically targeted to priority investments; $275 billion in targeted tax cuts will also help spur economic recovery.

The Congressional Budget Office's first analysis of the entire House recovery bill makes clear that what experts have been saying all along: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides immediate stimulus to help create jobs and makes long-term, targeted, and responsible investments to keep our nation's economy growing for years to come.

According to the CBO, about two-thirds of the plan's recovery investments will come in the first 18 months after it is enacted.

This morning, President Obama signed two Presidential Memoranda focusing on energy independence and climate change:

Obama Opens Way for States to Tighten Emissions Rules

Kim Chipman and Edwin Chen, Bloomberg - January 26, 2009:

The Rules Committee has posted The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 online. The bill will be formally introduced on Monday, January 26th. Read the legislation (.pdf)>>

Read summaries from the committee markups:

The executive order by President Obama repealing the global gag rule is welcome news to the poorest women and families in the world.

For the last eight years, the Bush Administration imposed the global gag rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, that restricted U.S. funding to organizations that provide basic health care and family planning services the poorest families in the world. The result has been more unintended pregnancies, more maternal complications and injuries, less information about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment and more -- not fewer -- abortions.

On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting a woman's right to make her own reproductive health care decisions.

We do so just two days after swearing in a new President who is committed to the fundamental right to privacy. I will work with President Obama, as I have worked throughout my entire career, to ensure a woman's right to choose. That is because decisions about whether to have a child do not and should not rest with the government.

Next week, the House will vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, working from priorities shared with President Barack Obama. The plan will create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, jumpstart our economy, and transform it for the 21st century. Unprecedented accountability and transparency measures are built in to help ensure tax dollars are spent wisely. $550 billion is strategically targeted to priority investments; $275 billion in targeted tax cuts will also help spur economic recovery.