A Help or Hindrance? Passage of bill is a step toward recovery

It was a common refrain heard on the campaign trail -- "when is Washington going to get serious about fixing our economy? I am trying to get ahead but I cannot even seem to make ends meet." In the months since being elected in November, as our nation has teetered on the edge of the largest economic recession in a generation, I have been reminded very quickly, and very graphically, what my constituents elected me to do.

The latest number of unemployed North Carolinians is close to 397,000, nearly 90 percent more people than were unemployed last year during the same period. In December, Forsyth County was one of the top five counties in the state in unemployment compensation paid out to residents, topping out at $5 million. Across the state, more than one-third of all our 100 counties have an unemployment rate higher than 10 percent.

I had some strong objections to the original economic-recovery package. To rectify some of the issues with the bill, I worked with a group of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to craft a plan that lowered overall spending by $100 billion and eliminated funding for a number of programs that, while worthwhile, were not the best way to stimulate our economy. In the end, we were able to make the best use of taxpayer dollars, while still ensuring that North Carolina received $6.1 billion in vital funding that is necessary to put people back to work and get our economy back on track.

I've always sought pragmatic, common-sense solutions during my time in the state Senate, and I will continue to do so in the U.S. Senate. Even this compromise measure, termed the Nelson-Collins amendment, isn't perfect. Few bills coming out of Congress are. But it was far better than the original proposal, and it was absolutely necessary to help my constituents across this state. I could not allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good, or the politics of this moment to obscure the gravity of our present economic situation.

The impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in North Carolina will be significant, creating or keeping 105,000 jobs in our state. Resources will be available almost immediately for infrastructure projects and investments in green energy. This will be the largest investment in our nation's roads, bridges and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s.

It will take big thinking and bold action to get our country's economy moving again. We'll make headway in the new energy economy, doubling renewable energy generating capacity over three years, creating enough renewable energy to power six million American homes.

In addition to tax cuts for 9 5 percent of workers and their families, North Carolina will receive money to help close its budget gap and provide unemployment compensation to an additional 128,000 laid-off workers. We'll be able to put people back to work modernizing at least 263 schools in North Carolina so that our children have the labs, classrooms and libraries they need to compete in the 21st century, and our workers will have the dignity of earning a paycheck to provide for their families.

Most important, though, this legislation delivers on our simple promise to change the way things work in Washington -- for working families and not for special interests. I'm sorry more of my Republican colleagues in both chambers could not bring themselves to support this measure, although we do all owe a debt of gratitude to those Republicans in the Senate who came to the table to negotiate in good faith and improve this legislation. North Carolinians did not elect me to go to the Senate and sit idly by while millions of Americans are struggling to find a job and put food on the table for their families. Inaction was simply not an option.

At the end of the day, I asked myself, is there more in this bill that will help North Carolina than hinder it? The simple answer was a resounding yes, and I cast my vote in favor of the 397,000 North Carolinians without employment who are relying on their leaders to put politics aside and do what is necessary to get our economy moving again. I'm confident that with this bill's passage, we've taken the first step toward making sure that it will.

■ Sen. Kay Hagan represents North Carolina in the U.S. Senate. She sits on the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee.