Oberstar Says Minnesota Will Benefit From Recovery Bill

The Congress has approved an economic recovery bill that is expected to create or save over 91,000 jobs in Minnesota.
Congressman Jim Oberstar is one of the authors of the legislation. He says one of the key provision of the bill is his 90 day "use it or lose it" clause which requires states to begin investing money from the legislation on public infrastructure projects within three months of receiving the funds. If those dollars are not obligated to specific projects, they will be returned to the treasury and then distributed to other states that are ready to put those dollars to work.
Minnesota has 200 road and bridge projects that could qualify for the $477 million the state will receive from the economic recovery bill. Oberstar says if the president signs the bill before the middle of February, there could be a million people at work on construction jobs by the first week of June.