Secretary Duncan talks about the importance of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Captioned version
Real Player (5.43MB; 1 minute, 22 seconds)

Note: Your computer must have Real Player, which is free from Real, to view this captioned video.

Transcript

I'm Arne Duncan. It's no secret that many families today are hurting – losing jobs, scaling back and facing an uncertain future.

It's also no secret that many of our schools are struggling -- losing our young people to the streets or graduating students who are not ready for college or work.

And with states cutting education budgets, our schools and our children are even more at risk.

But thanks to the leadership of Congress and President Obama -- help is on the way for our families and for our schools.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides more than a hundred billion dollars over the next two years to save education jobs, send young people to college, modernize America's classrooms and advance education reforms.

These funds will keep our teachers teaching and our students learning—the single best way to stimulate our economy in the short-term and in the long run. It's absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lift American education to a new level -- and make us more competitive in the global economy.

In tough times like these, we have to tighten our belts – but not at the expense of our country's children. Every child in America deserves the best education possible – and with this historic legislation, we will make good on that promise. Let's get to work together!