Governor Dayton joins 15 governors in letter urging swift consideration of American Jobs Act

Today, Governor Mark Dayton joined 15 other governors in signing a letter to Congressional leadership urging swift consideration of the American Jobs Act.  Read the letter below:

Dear Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, and Minority Leader Pelosi:

As governors, we believe that of all the difficult decisions we have to make as a country, our top priority must remain job creation, always.

We therefore urge swift consideration of the American Jobs Act, which draws upon many ideas that governors - Democratic and Republican alike - are putting into action in the states.

It is an economic and historic truth that, to create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments.  As President Obama has stated, to create jobs, we must be willing to educate, innovate and rebuild.  Our global competitors are investing in their infrastructure and in the skills and education of their workforce.  To create jobs in our communities, we must be willing to do the same.

There is nothing more important for a family than a job and nothing more important for our country, in these challenging times.  The American people work hard at their jobs, and they rightfully expect us, the representatives of their government, to do ours.

Thank you for your leadership.  We are ready to work with you on this most important goal of creating jobs and expanding opportunity.

Sincerely,

Governor Martin O'Malley, Maryland
Governor Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii
Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., California
Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York
Governor Mark Dayton, Minnesota
Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr., US Virgin Islands
Governor Chris Gregoire, Washington
Governor John Hickenlooper, Colorado
Governor John Kitzhaber, Oregon
Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Connecticut
Governor Jack Markell, Delaware
Governor John Lynch, New Hampshire
Governor Deval Patrick, Massachusetts
Governor Bev Perdue, North Carolina
Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois
Governor Peter Shumlin, Vermont