COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The $787 billion stimulus package has been signed into law and Americans are anxiously waiting for that money to make some sort of impact.
As Ohioans struggle to hold onto their jobs, pay bills and put food on the table, the big question for many is how the plan will put Ohioans back to work, NBC 4's Tacoma Newsome reported.
The state of Ohio will receive $8.2 billion, which will be divided between different services like Medicaid, education and health and human services. But a large portion of that money will go toward creating 133,000 new jobs.
"There will be all kinds of jobs that will come out of this -- short-term and long-term. There'll be construction jobs, healthcare jobs, jobs that relate to education and I think this will not only stimulate the nation, but Ohio. We'll see Ohio stimulated," said Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher.
Newsome: "Where are these jobs and how can I apply for a job?"
Fisher: "The state of Ohio has put together and Web site, www.Recovery.Ohio.gov. You can go to the Web site and you can apply for those funds."
NBC 4 went to the Web site, but at this point, only project proposals can be submitted by businesses and organizations. There is no application for actual jobs.
Newsome: "A lot of this has been conceptual. People have been hearing the same buzzwords over and over again. Jobs are coming to Ohio. Jobs are coming to Ohio. What will we see and when will we see it?"
Fisher: "People have a right to be skeptical. This isn't about rhetoric. This isn't about promises. This is about results and so there's no question that we're going to be monitoring every dollar to make sure that it's well-spent and that it results either in the intention of keeping jobs or creating jobs and if it doesn't, then we're going to re-engineer it because we need to be measured by what happens and not by what's promised."
This means that there are still no specifics about the jobs coming to Ohio. Lawmakers said that's because it's too early to tell.
When pressed about the number of jobs Ohio is set to receive, state officials said they were given the number of 130,000 by the administration of President Barack Obama.
For additional information, stay with nbc4i.com and NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
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