Sen. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) has told Congress that it must pass a second stimulus bill to fend off another round of economic crisis, Minnesota Public Radio reports.
Oberstar, who is chairman House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the first stimulus package created 8,500 construction jobs related to transportation projects in Minnesota in its first year, according to the public radio report.
Oberstar says the measure created about 890,000 transportation-related jobs, according to the report.
However, Oberstar says now that the stimulus is almost complete, he cautions that if it’s not continued with a second stimulus, the nation will be facing “a doomsday scenario,” according to a KARE-11 report.
Despite Oberstar’s morbid outlook, pundits aren’t convinced a second stimulus is the best option.
“The President, democrats’, focused on climate change, then health care, when what we are screaming for is jobs,” said Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report, reports KARE-11.