Governor O'Malley Joins Vice President Joe Biden to Discuss the Importance of Infrastructure Investment
Vice President Biden, Governor O’Malley Senator Cardin, Transportation Secretary LaHood Highlight Impact of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Maryland’s Infrastructure Investment
LAUREL, MD (February 5, 2009) – Vice President Joe Biden, Governor Martin O’Malley, Senator Benjamin Cardin, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined others today at the Laurel MARC Station to promote the importance of investment in infrastructure to create jobs in a 21st century economy. Using a $2.9 million infrastructure project as a background that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would help fund, Governor O’Malley urged Congress to act swiftly and prudently on the proposal before them to inject needed investment into Maryland’s infrastructure.
“This project is just one of literally hundreds of projects, small and large, all across our State that will benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” said Governor O’Malley. “The national recession’s impact on Maryland means we simply don’t have the state dollars to make these repairs. With each project like this one, we preserve jobs, improve our infrastructure and invest in the future of our communities. I want to thank President Obama, Vice President Biden and our Maryland Congressional delegation for leading the charge to invest in our future.”
Passage of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would make possible a $2.9 million station rehabilitation project at the Laurel Station, the busiest station on the Camden line.
The Laurel MARC Station handles over 700 boardings a day. The $2.9 million station rehabilitation project will replace a deteriorating wood platform and its wooden support structure with a new concrete and steel system topped with an all-weather composite decking. The project also will provide improved lighting, a new passenger shelter, upgraded ADA compliant ramps for use by the disabled community and the structural rehabilitation of the historic station building built in 1884. The project is expected to support more than 30 jobs in a variety of trades, including: carpenters, iron workers, concrete finishers, masons and electricians.
The Laurel project is just one example of as many as 500 transportation projects throughout Maryland that could be candidates for federal economic recovery funding. These projects, worth more than $1.1 billion, could be underway quickly preserving jobs and investing in the State’s transportation infrastructure. The exact number of projects will be determined by the criteria outlined a final bill. Provided federal economic recovery funds become available, Maryland transportation projects alone are projected to support up to 20,000 jobs.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is a nationwide effort to create jobs, jumpstart growth and transform our economy for the 21st century. Across the country, this plan will help businesses create jobs and families afford their bills while laying a foundation for future economic growth in key areas like health care, clean energy, education and a 21st century infrastructure. In Maryland, this plan will deliver immediate, tangible impacts, including:
- Creating or saving 70,000 jobs over the next two years. Jobs created will be in a range of industries from clean energy to health care, with over 90% in the private sector.
- Providing a “making work pay” tax cut of up to $1,000 for 2,210,000 workers and their families. The plan will make a down payment on the President’s Making Work Pay tax cut for 95% of workers and their families, designed to pay out immediately into workers’ paychecks
- Making 53,000 families eligible for a new American Opportunity Tax Credit to make college affordable. By creating a new $2,500 partially refundable tax credit for four years of college, this plan will give 3.8 million families nationwide – and 53,000 families in Maryland – new assistance to put college within their reach.
- Offering an additional $100 per month in unemployment insurance benefits to 242,000 workers in Maryland who have lost their jobs in this recession, and providing extended unemployment benefits to an additional 40,000 laid-off workers.
- Providing funding sufficient to modernize at least 138 schools in Maryland so our children have the labs, classrooms and libraries they need to compete in the 21st century economy.
