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Lt. Governor Cherry, Vice President Biden Celebrate Recovery Act
7 months ago
The vice president and lieutenant governor toured job-training facilities at Delta College near Saginaw, highlighting the pre-chemical process operator program to train workers for jobs at nearby Hemlock Semiconductor, the world’s leading producer of polycrystalline silicon used in solar energy components. Recovery Act dollars flowing into the state’s No Worker Left Behind program provide the tuition for approximately 90 percent of the students enrolled in the program.
After speaking at Delta College, Vice President Biden and Small Business Administration (SBA) Director Karen Mills traveled to downtown Saginaw to meet with David Furlo, CEO of Morley Companies, and officials of Citizens Bank. Working with Citizens Bank, the Morley Companies received a SBA loan package through the Recovery Act, enabling Morley to expand its facility and hire 350 additional employees.
The vice president also toured Hemlock Semiconductor which received $141.8 million in advanced energy tax credits — the largest single Recovery Act tax credit awarded nationally — fueling increased investment and expansion at the Hemlock facilities.
In addition to unprecedented funding for new energy companies and technologies, the Recovery Act provided direct help to citizens in need, including a $250 one-time payment to seniors and disabled vets, extended unemployment benefits and food assistance for families.
The Recovery Act also is funding critical infrastructure improvements, putting people to work on road, bridge, water and sewer projects. The Recovery Act also has allowed Michigan to keep thousands of teachers on the job in classrooms across the state.
• While the Recovery Act has funded tens of thousands of jobs for Michigan workers, the jobs numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. The Recovery Act is providing an unprecedented level of investment in Michigan’s new energy economy — investments we can see in the form of tax credits to support the expansion of Hemlock Semiconductor and in job-training dollars to ensure Hemlock has the highly-skilled workers it needs now and in the future.
• The Recovery Act has provided important investments in Michigan companies large and small, wind turbine technologies, fuel-cell development, solar manufacturing and job training. Combined with state incentives and hard work by the Granholm administration, the Recovery Act is helping to diversify the state’s economy and make Michigan the center of the nation’s new clean energy economy.