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White House
24 January 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama says he understands that many Americans are
skeptical about the size of his initiative for rescuing the nation's
economy. In his first weekly broadcast address as president, Mr. Obama
assured the American people that the massive plan will hold his
administration accountable for the results.
President Obama says he will not allow his
$825 billion proposal for fixing America's economic problems to be a
waste of money.
"We won't just throw money at our problems
- we'll invest in what works. Instead of politicians doling out money
behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made
public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible," he said.
Mr.
Obama met with his economic advisers on Saturday to discuss the federal
budget. In his broadcast address, he warned that if nothing is done,
the U.S. unemployment rate could reach double digits and the economy
could fall $1 trillion short of its capacity.
"In
short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could
become dramatically worse. That is why I have proposed an American
Recovery and Reinvestment Plan to immediately jumpstart job creation as
well as long-term economic growth. I am pleased to say that both
parties in Congress are already hard at work on this plan, and I hope
to sign it into law in less than a month," he said.
The
president met with top Democratic and Republican lawmakers Friday to
discuss efforts to get his economic plan passed. Leaders from both
parties indicated that they believe the proposal will get congressional
approval by Mr. Obama's mid-February deadline.
One of those
leaders, House of Representatives Minority Leader John Boehner,
Saturday, gave the Republican Party's weekly address. Boehner and his
fellow Republicans are proposing more tax cuts and less government
spending than the president's plan offers.
"We
let families, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the self-employed
keep more of what they earn to encourage investment and create millions
of new private-sector jobs," he said.
Boehner
said the Republicans would cut taxes for every taxpayer. He said
Americans "cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity."
Mr.
Obama's plan aims to create at least three million new jobs and reform
the country's education, health care, energy and transportation
systems.
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