Economic Recovery

Economic Recovery

Statement by Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
Secretary Treasurer Jan Laue

February 2, 2009


The Iowa Federation of Labor urges Congress to act quickly and decisively to enact an aggressive economic recovery program. We are counting on the Senate to pass the economic recovery package approved last week by the House.

We are facing the greatest economic crisis since the 1930s. The national economy is spiraling downhill and out of control. Just last year the country lost a total of over 2.5 million jobs.

Without immediate action the crisis will only get worse. This economic recovery plan will create as many as 4 million jobs, jobs that out-of-work Iowans desperately need.

First, we must meet the immediate needs of struggling American families by extending and modernizing unemployment insurance and providing food stamps. We must provide immediate aid to state and local governments to be better able to meet budgetary pressures caused by increasing demands on the social safety net.

But short-term problems didn’t create the crisis and short-term solutions won’t end it. It’s time that we invest in guaranteed affordable, quality health care coverage for everyone. It’s time that we invest in renewable energy that will provide millions of good-paying jobs that cannot be off-shored, helping us move toward a cleaner, greener future. It’s time that we invest in schools to help us educate our children and help struggling school districts make up for budget shortfalls caused by the collapse of their property tax base. It’s time that we invest in information, communication and transportation infrastructure needed to succeed in the global economy of the 21st Century.

The Iowa Federation of Labor urges Senator Grassley to put aside partisanship and join with the House and with President Obama in supporting the economic recovery bill. Now is not the time for “politics as usual.” We need the Senate to act quickly and responsibly and pass this bill now.