Stimulus brings VP Joe Biden to K'zoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - Michigan will receive $2 billion under a new federal bond program designed to help the states hit thehardest by the slumping economy.

Vice President Joe Biden announced the program and Michigan's share of the money Friday during a stop in Kalamazoo to promote the Obama administration's economic stimulus program.

Biden appeared in Kalamazoo to highlight the 2000th stimulus project, one that will help an I-94 road project.

He was joined on stage by Michigan US Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Lt. Gov. John Cherry, plus US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The vice president was introduced at the event held at Loy Norrix High School by a man whose unemployment ran out, but found a job through the stimulus projects.

Biden spoke about the reasons behind the stimulus money funneling into projects that will provide "high paying, decent jobs."

"We're investing in transportation," he told the crowd. "We know if we do it right, we'll lay the foundation" for a more robust economy.

The vice president talked about the bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors, but said that although it's painful, it was better than the liquidiation of these two auto and manufacturing giants. He said the automakers would recover and be stronger than before.

He praised Granholm for the help and support she's given the Obama Administration, and repeatedly praised Levin and Stabenow for their help recently and over the years.

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On April 13, President Barack Obama said the $787 billion economic stimulus plan is beginning to take hold and that work is coming in "ahead of schedule and under budget."

Standing alongside Vice President Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at the agency that day, Obama highlighted the administration's 2,000th project funded through the $48.1 billion part of the program allocated specifically to transportation infrastructure projects -- a $68-million project to widen a highway interchange in Kalamazoo County.

It was noted at the time that Vice President Biden would visit Michigan to highlight that project in the coming months.

"What is most remarkable about this effort ... isn't just the size of our investment or the number of projects we're investing in. It's how quickly, efficiently and responsibly those investments have been made," Obama said. "Because these projects are getting approved more quickly than we thought ... and because these projects are costing less than we thought, we can utter a sentence rarely heard in recent years: This government effort is coming in ahead of schedule and under budget."