The Economic Stimulus (aka the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan)



Since the economy took a sharp downturn in the Fall of 2008, United States lawmakers have been crafting a stimulus package to revitalize the economy and create jobs. This stimulus, which President Obama dubbed the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan", will inject billions of dollars into the economy. It has been President Obama and the new Congress's highest priority.



The stimulus plan mainly involves funding programs that have already been passed by Congress and signed into law.



Greening the Stimulus



Many, including Green For All, have seen this economic crisis as an opportunity to make a down payment on an inclusive, green economy, rather than propping up the pollution-based status quo.



For all the discussion about how green the economic stimulus will be, much of the funding being considered is for “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects that will build new highways and make our already grey economy even more dependent on the fossil fuels that bake our planet and undermine the health and future of our people.



We must deliver a message to Congress that we need a green and equitable recovery plan that includes funding for essential green programs, like those created by the Green Jobs Act.



The Green Jobs Act



The Green Jobs Act funds partnerships that train workers for jobs in the green economy and has a special focus on creating “green pathways out of poverty.”



If funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects is included in the stimulus – as we demand and expect – then it’s essential that we invest in the skills of the people who will do that work, particularly those who are on the margins and at the smokestack end of the current dirty economy.



In 2007, Green For All and our allies got the Green Jobs Act signed into law, authorized for $125 million. President Bush then appropriated $0 to it in his budget. Throughout the spring and summer of 2008, we fought an uphill battle to secure funding for the Act, with some success. But the new economic and political climate --President Obama's commitment to green jobs coupled with the need for a massive stimulus -- has given the Green Jobs Act a boost. Obama recommended funding the Act at $500 million in the stimulus package he sent to Congress recently, and the House of Representatives included $500 million to train workers for green-collar in the bill it just passed.



Now it is up to the Senate... Tell your Senators to say yes to Obama's bold green recovery plan, and fund the Green Jobs Act at $500 million.



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