WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today praised the 17,095 direct jobs created or saved in Ohio through the economic recovery package.

“The economic recovery package is putting people back to work while investing in critical infrastructure improvements that will promote long-term economic growth in Ohio,” Brown said. “In addition to the more than 17,000 direct jobs created or saved, the economic recovery act has supported thousands of additional indirect jobs, while helping rebuild our communities and maintain critical services. We still need to do more though when it comes to job creation. That’s why I’m working with President Obama and his administration on a national manufacturing policy. We need to ensure that manufacturers and other small businesses have the credit they need to expand operations and hire new employees. And we need to invest in manufacturing communities and workers to help them retool for the clean energy economy.”

Across the nation, economic recovery funds have already created or saved more than 640,000 direct jobs. The job estimate is based on the effects of $160 billion in economic recovery funds – less than half of the economic recovery funds put to work through Sep. 30, 2009. The report only covers direct jobs --- government and private forecasters estimates that overall, the Recovery Act has created or saved over one million jobs to-date.

The Recovery Act is also providing tax relief for 95 percent of working families; aiding state governments at a time of record budget shortfalls; offering needed financial assistance to hard?hit families and businesses; and investing in billions of dollars in infrastructure and technology projects that will prepare Ohio for jobs of the 21st century.

Brown has been working to connect Ohio small businesses and manufacturers with resources passed through the economic recovery package. Earlier this year, Brown held a series of forums connecting more than 1,000 Ohio small businesses with federal officials from the SBA. More than 2,150 loans totaling more than $375 million have been granted to Ohio small businesses in the past year, with 1,247 granted in April 1 – Sep. 30 2009 (the six months following the time at which SBA loan provisions in the economic recovery package took effect).

Brown has been examining the effects of the credit crisis on small businesses and manufacturers through his chairmanship of the U.S. Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy. On Oct. 9, he convened a hearing entitled “Restoring Credit to Manufacturers,” which featured expert testimony from the manufacturing and banking sectors to investigate ways to reverse the credit crisis.

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