Jobs Bill Will Invest $687 + Million In Montana

Press Release

The U.S. Senate's version of the Jobs Bill will help rebuild the struggling economy by investing more than $687 million in Montana, Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced today.

Baucus and Tester released Montana-specific details of the bill this afternoon.

The Senators said the measure, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will create or save four million American jobs and provides $247 billion in tax cuts for working families. The Jobs Bill will also invest in long-term projects like rebuilding Montana's highways, water systems, schools, energy facilities and health care facilities.

Debate on the Jobs Bill is scheduled to begin tonight, and exact funding levels will likely change. But Baucus and Tester said under the current version, Montana would receive the following funding:

* Montana Stabilization Fund (assists states and local governments for education, public safety and other needs): $196,532,000
* Montana highway funding: $168,286,449
* Montana transit formula funding: $19,956,041
* Montana water systems: $39,188,800
* Montana school modernization: $77,600,000
* Montana education technology and vocational education: $6,719,400
* Montana Head Start and education for the disadvantaged: $46,438,661
* Montana funding for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: $39,671,000
* Montana energy program: $4,117,000
* Housing in Montana: $30,630,708
* Montana Child Care and Development block grants: $5,747,006
* Montana Community Services Block Grants: $902,493
* Montana food and shelter assistance: $37,051,838
* Montana's drug task forces and other community justice funding: $5,765,088
* U.S. Department of Labor grants for Montana: $8,522,564
* TOTAL: $687,712,048

As chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, Baucus added the tax cuts, credits and incentives to the Senate version of the Jobs Bill. The tax provisions include:

* The Making Work Pay tax credit: Provides 95 percent of American workers with up to $500 in extra cash in their paychecks.
* $33 billion in green energy tax incentives: Grows jobs in the renewable energy sector by encouraging private-sector investments in research and in domestic energy production with wind, biomass, hydropower, and other renewable sources
* Approximately $21 billion in business tax relief and incentives: Helps businesses survive in growing markets, get financing for expansion, and get the money they need for payroll and expenses. Businesses will be able to more easily write off the cost of new equipment, write off more losses if they're hard hit economically, delay or reduce some tax payments, and cash in unused tax credits.
* An additional $170 million for Medicaid funding in Montana.
* $17 billion in one-time payments to seniors and disabled veterans: Provides $300 to seniors on Social Security, low-income recipients of Supplemental Security Income, disabled veterans and veterans on pensions, railroad retirement beneficiaries, and others who may not qualify for the Making Work Pay credit.
* $4 billion in tax cuts for homeowners: Helps more Americans buy homes by enhancing the existing $7,500 homebuyer tax credit.
* $70 billion in Alternative Minimum Tax relief: Protects 24 million working families from thousands of dollars in additional income taxes for 2009.
* $13 billion in tax cuts for college tuition and education: Helps students and their families afford four years of college, with a $2,500 tax credit and the ability to purchase computers and computer technology with funds from tax-free 529 Savings Plans.
* $15 billion in tax cuts for families: Gives cash back to parents through an expansion of Earned Income Tax Credit for families with three or more children, additional marriage penalty relief for couples, and increased eligibility for the Refundable Child Tax Credit for lower-income families.

"Working families will get a financial boost, small businesses will finally catch a break, and the whole country will reap the benefits of a growing green energy sector, revitalized schools, and higher-quality health care," Baucus said. "This bill has been carefully crafted to produce meaningful improvements to our economy in the short term, and to improve America's fiscal strength and stability for the future."

As a member of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee, Tester approved discretionary spending in the bill. He also praised the accountability provisions of the bill that limit administrative costs and establishes an oversight board to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted.

"When we invest in our highways, water systems, energy infrastructure and schools, we invest in our future," Tester said. "We still have work to do to get to the final version of the bill in the Senate. But in the end, it will rebuild our economy from the ground up by creating jobs and rebuilding our critical long-term infrastructure."

Money from the Jobs Bill will likely be funneled from the federal government to the State of Montana and local communities.

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