Etheridge welcomes new jobs to Raleigh


Raleigh — U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington), the only North Carolina member of the House Ways and Means Committee, marked the one-year anniversary of the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in a job creation announcement with construction workers and design contractors at the Capital Area Transit Facility in Raleigh today.

“This is an exciting project to get North Carolina moving and to get North Carolina working,” Etheridge said. “I voted for the Recovery Act because I refuse to sit on the sidelines and watch North Carolinians suffer from this rotten national economy. Our economy is starting to turn around because of tax cuts and funding from the Recovery Act.”

Part of the funding has already been put to use in Wake County by the City of Raleigh for construction of an Operations and Maintenance Facility which involves more than 600 jobs. The new Capital Area Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility will support 125 to 150 city buses when completed. Workers at the site are currently involved on, or will soon be working on, construction, design, utilities maintenance, carpentry, grading and paving, surveying, engineering, wiring, roofing, and fencing,.

Since the Recovery Act was signed into law a year ago, the legislation has cut taxes for 256,000 middle class families in North Carolina’s Second Congressional District through the Making Work Pay tax credit. It is providing $37 billion in tax cuts for 110 million working families nationwide in 2009. More than 42,000 small businesses nationwide benefitted from the legislation through loans they received through the Recovery Act, providing them with nearly $20 billion in much-needed capital. To date, it has created or saved more than 2 million jobs, and more investments are on their way.

“This project is a common sense investment in our future as well as job producer right now,” Etheridge said. “It’s a win-win for North Carolina and our workers.”

Etheridge noted that he is working to pass his HIRING Act to boost private sector job creation. Congress is considering adding his business tax credit to major jobs legislation as soon as this month to spur employment growth. He was joined at today’s event by Raleigh Mayor Pro Tem James West, Wake County contractors and other subcontractors and workers.