The U.S. House of Representatives on January 28 approved, by a vote of 244-188, an $819 billion stimulus package designed to get the American economy moving again. The “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the centerpiece of President Obama’s plans to resuscitate our staggering economy in the short-term, and provide needed investments for sustained long-term growth.

America’s Building Trades Unions applaud the House action, and we welcome the overall economic approach being taken by the Obama Administration.

Building Trades Department President Mark H. Ayers hailed the House action, saying, “H.R.1 offers a much-needed prescription for ailing our nation’s economy. By providing significant resources for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, unemployment insurance, middle class tax cuts, and State and local fiscal stabilization, the House of Representatives has taken the first critical step in revitalizing our economy and offering renewed hope for millions of struggling American working families and their communities.”

Unfortunately, H.R. 1 failed to secure a single Republican supporter. Eleven Democrats voted against the bill as well. They were:
 
For America’s Building Trades Unions, who represent workers in an industry that is being particularly hard-hit by this recession, we find ourselves in agreement with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who said after the vote, “There will be people in districts all over the country that will wonder why, when there's a good bill to get the economy moving again, while we still seem to be playing political gotcha."