Jobs Bill could be Stimulus II

In mid-December 2009 Congress passed the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010. The act redirects $75 Billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and invests in creating jobs for Americans. Of the greatest interest is the amount being directed at infrastructure projects. The act will allocate $48.3 Billion to rebuild America's infrastructure. The break down is as follows:

• Highway Infrastructure - $27.5 Billion
• Transit - $8.4 Billion
• Amtrak - $800 Million
• Airport Improvement Grants - $500 Million
• Maritime Administration - $ 100 Million
• Clean Water - $2 Billion
• Bureau of Reclamation - $100 Million
• Corps of Engineers - $715 Million
• Energy Innovation Loans - $2 Billion
• School Renovation Loans - $4.1 Billion
• Housing Trust Fund - $1 Billion
• Public Housing Capital Fund - $1 Billion

Spending on infrastructure is a necessary and wise investment. Beyond creating jobs in the short term, the investments made through this bill, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will have long lasting effects on our ability to grow and attract new businesses. The Main Street Act of 2010 has not been approved by the Senate, and is subject to change. No date has been given as when this will be taken up by the Senate, however look for some movement on this in February. Hopefully with the passage of this act we will see additional money flow to the long list of infrastructure projects in the greater Philadelphia region.