Lt. Gov. Dubie on Jobs Tour: “Legislature Should Act Now on $8.6M Jobs Bill.”
(Burlington, VT) – Lt. Governor Brian Dubie issued a statement today, urging legislative leaders to push ahead on a bill intended to deliver roughly $8.6 million in federal State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) to help Vermont’s economy and sorely-needed create jobs.
Dubie spoke in Burlington, from a “Jobs Tour” in Chittenden County. The day is part of a state-wide, ongoing effort he launched in mid-January to hear from employers about ways the state can help them retain existing jobs and grow new jobs.
In early January, Dubie joined Governor Douglas and legislative leaders to announce the $8.6 million jobs bill, which proposed appropriations for low-interest loans for small businesses, for the Vermont Training Program, for farmers to purchase seeds for spring planting, for help promoting winter tourism, and for extending internet broadband access to underserved areas.
“This funding has been available for months — since the federal stimulus act was passed last year,” Dubie said, “yet not a dime of it has reached Vermonters. It’s time for the House and the Senate to pass the bill, and get it to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law now, before the town meeting week break. The legislature promised swift action on this bill in January. Now is the time to act.”
Dubie said, “I have been out listening to small business people all over our state, and they are worried. Out-of-work Vermonters, farmers, and employers need those dollars now. Not next summer, next year, but now. I call upon leaders in the House and the Senate to make passage of this bill their first priority.”
# # #
