Denver - As lawmakers in Washington debate the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Democrats in Colorado today highlighted a new website with real stories from ordinary Coloradans that underscore the urgent need for action.

Last week, Organizing for America-a project of the Democratic National Committee-issued its first national call to action, asking supporters across the country to organize meetings in their communities to discuss President Obama's economic recovery plan. OFA asked people to submit their stories about how the economic crisis is affecting them and their communities. After more than 3,600 meetings in all 50 states, Americans submitted more than 31,030 stories. Today, OFA posted a sampling of those stories on its website to help put a human face on the economic crisis gripping our country.

To see real stories from families across the country, click here: http://my.barackobama.com/yourstories

"With hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs each month, President Obama called on our leaders in Washington to put partisanship aside and pass a economic recover plan that saves or create four million jobs and invests in our economic prosperity in the long term," said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak. "Just yesterday we found out that another 623,000 workers filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week and a record 4.81 million stayed on unemployment insurance in the last week of January. The stories posted today put a human face on these numbers and highlight the urgent need for action. If we don't move swiftly to put the Economic Recovery Plan in motion this economic crisis could become a national catastrophe and millions more Americans could lose their jobs, homes, and health care."

President Obama and Democratic members of Congress have put together a plan that will jump start our economic recovery and get our economy back on track. It will get Americans back to work by immediately boosting employment and saving or creating more than 3 million jobs, including 63,000 in Colorado. It will immediately invest in infrastructure projects -- the repair of our roads and bridges, doubling the production of alternative energy, improving the energy efficiency of homes and buildings, modernizing 99 educational facilities in Colorado, computerizing medical records, and investing in broadband. And it will provide 36,000 families in Colorado with new assistance for college, helping make college education more affordable and accessible. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/White_House_Releases_Additional_State1.pdf]