Recap of @BarackObama’s Speech to Congress
With the nation’s unemployment rate at 9.1 percent, President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to share a plan to create jobs and grow the economy. His $447 billion plan, the American Jobs Act, includes the following measures:
- $50 billion for infrastructure development such as repairing roads and bridges.
- $10 billion to capitalize a national infrastructure bank to help finance such projects.
- payroll tax cut to put an additional $175 million into the pockets of working Americans.
- extending unemployment benefits, which were lengthened to the current 99-week maximum in 2009.
Other provisions in the president’s proposal include money to refurbish schools and provide state aid for teachers and first responders. For greater detail on the American Jobs Act, download the fact sheet here.
