Rep. Roy Blunt Smears Robin Carnahan With False Attacks On Recovery Act

Blunt's Republican "Friends" Spread Falsehoods About Recovery Act

Rep. Roy Blunt's 7th District Congressional Republican Committee "Friends" Ad:

NARRATOR: She endorsed their huge spending plan that failed to create jobs.

Robin Carnahan. On their side, not yours.

[7th District Congressional Republican Committee, 2/11/10]

The Recovery Act Created Up To 2.4 Million American Jobs

CBO: The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Has Created Up To 2.4 Million American Jobs. According to CNN: "The Congressional Budget Office attributes between 800,000 to 2.4 million jobs and 1.2 to 3.1 percentage points of economic growth to stimulus." [CNN, 1/13/10]

Recovery Act Has Done Wonders For Missouri's Roads, Highways, and Bridges

The Recovery Act Has Provided Over $638 Million For Missouri's Dilapidated Roads, Highways, And Bridges.  According to a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) the Recovery Act has supplied Missouri with $638,602,918 for 620 different highway projects. [AASHTO, Projects & Paychecks, February 2010]

The Recovery Act Has Done Wonders For Missouri's Dilapidated Roads, Highways, And Bridges.  According to a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO):

Minutes after the President signed the Recovery Act on February 17, 2009, Missouri transportation officials met beside a dilapidated bridge over the Osage River that connected, among other things, the state capital with the Fort Leonard Wood army post. The bridge had been built in 1933, and it had become common to see huge chunks of concrete fall below as cars passed over. Because of the structural issues, trucks had been banned from the bridge in 2007. "This is a terribly dilapidated, dangerous, outdated bridge," said Tom Wright, a Miller County commissioner.

Knowing the stimulus bill was moving fast, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission rushed to get ready. Before the ink was dry on the ARRA bill, commissioners officially signed off on the $9 million project to build a new bridge beside the crumbling old one. "The local people are absolutely ecstatic about it," Wright said. "It's a huge safety factor for us and we've wanted it for a long time." The Osage River bridge was only one of four projects the Missouri Department of Transportation got underway on stimulus signing day, one year ago. Other states were similarly quick off the blocks, proving an important point about transportation funding. [AASHTO, Projects & Paychecks, February 2010]

Recovery Act Kept 6 Million Americans Out Of Poverty

CBPP: Recovery Act Is Keeping 6 Million Americans Out Of Poverty. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "Although meant chiefly to help the broad economy, the stimulus plan Congress enacted earlier this year (the American Recovery and Re-Investment Act of 2009, or ARRA) had the important secondary effect of significantly ameliorating the recession's impact on poverty. This analysis, which comes one day before the Census Bureau will release updated poverty figures (for 2008), examines seven of the recovery act's provisions -- two improvements in unemployment insurance, three tax credits for working families, an increase in food stamps, and a one-time payment for retirees, veterans, and people with disabilities -- and finds that they alone are preventing more than 6 million Americans from falling below the poverty line and are reducing the severity of poverty for 33 million more. Those 6 million people include more than 2 million children and over 500,000 seniors. This analysis includes state-specific estimates for California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois." [CBPP, 9/9/09]

CBPP: Recovery Act Lifted 105,000 Missouri Residents Out Of Poverty.  According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act lifted an estimated 105,000 Missouri residents above the federal poverty level.  [CBPP, 12/17/09]