E-MAIL
FREQUENTLY
SIGN UP
WALZ FORWARDS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA RECOVERY NEEDS TO PAWLENTY ADMINISTRATION
Local officials request more than $625 million in federal economic recovery funding to create jobs and build infrastructure in southern Minnesota
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2009
Contact: Meredith Salsbery
507-388-2149
WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Congressman Walz forwarded more than $625 million in requests for federal economic recovery funds to the Pawlenty Administration. Walz, who hosted Pawlenty’s Commissioner of Transportation Tom Sorel in his Washington DC office today, passed on the requests from township, school district, city and county officials in southern Minnesota who are urgently seeking federal funds to complete much needed local infrastructure projects. In its current form, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act will send federal dollars to states to be distributed and will create or save four million jobs through infrastructure projects and state aid.
“At the end of January I held several listening sessions with township, city, school district and county officials so I could hear more about the types of projects they want to undertake in order to fix their infrastructure and create jobs in our communities,” said Congressman Tim Walz. “Nearly three hundred local officials communicated their needs to my office and today I made sure that the Pawlenty Administration is also aware of the dire need in southern Minnesota.”
“These projects range from mundane street repair, to sewage systems and water treatment facilities, to new school buildings, to water tower refurbishing,” continued Walz. “Every one of these projects creates jobs and I doubt anyone questions the importance of having chemical-free water or streets without gigantic potholes.”
“This economy is in crisis. But by working together, we can turn this crisis into an opportunity to put people back to work and prepare our state for the long term,” concluded Walz.
Walz also forwarded the recovery requests to Commissioner Tom Hanson, who Governor Pawlenty has designated to lead Minnesota’s process for distributing federal recovery funding. Walz spoke with Hanson last week to urge him to ensure rural areas get their fare share of the federal package.
 |
