Congressman Jim Oberstar, who should know, says the stimulus bill that's working its way to President Obama will be a jobs bill.

"It will put Americans to work at jobs that pay a living wage; by this June, we could see as many as  one million new jobs nationwide,” he said. “In Minnesota, the road and bridge investments alone will generate over 15,000 jobs in the next year.”

And the overall impact for the state will be much greater, he said, with the White House estimating that the legislation will create or save 66,000 jobs in Minnesota.

Even better, a recent analysis of the recovery bill by Moody’s Economy.com concluded that the economic recovery bill could create as many as 91,000 jobs in Minnesota by 2010, and hold unemployment down by 1.8 percent, Oberstar said.

“Unemployment in Minnesota is 7.6 percent, and if we don’t take action, unemployment levels could climb into the double digits,” he said  “The recovery bill will hold unemployment down, put people to work, and give them the money to pay bills, mortgages and educate their children. That is the economic activity that will help our economy recover sooner rather than later.”