Menendez outlines plan for stimulus spendingBy VICTOR EPSTEIN • Associated Press • January 6, 2009
NEWARK — The 76-year-old Pulaski Skyway is typical of the neglected bridges that should have repairs funded by the economic stimulus package, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said Monday.
With the dated skyway as his backdrop, the New Jersey Democrat outlined his priorities for the spending package, expected to total about $800 billion, which the 111th Congress will begin crafting this week in Washington.
Menendez said he favors construction projects for roads, bridges and schools that are already out of the design phase and ready to create jobs immediately, such as the 5,000 positions he said would be generated by a $200 million upgrade of the Skyway.
He said government spending is needed to steady an economy that lost 1.59 million jobs in the first 11 months of 2008. New Jersey lost 34,000 jobs during the same period. "The economic crisis is hitting people hard . . . the reason we're talking about an economic stimulus of this size is because we're in a deep recession," Menendez said.
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