President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law today in Denver. The package of $789 billion is supposed to create or save about 3.5 million jobs during the next two years. It is expected that 106,000 of them will be in the state of Georgia, and 7,500 of those are said to be in Congressional District 1, in which Savannah is located. Jobs are to be created in a variety of industries and more than 90% of the money will be spent in the private sector. Among other things, the act will create a $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit for students going into higher education. The act will also ensure the Pell Grant is available to students who need it, and will increase the maximum award by $500.
