TUE, APRIL 14, 12:38 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
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So today, I want to step back for a moment and explain our strategy as clearly as I can. This is going to be prose, and not poetry. I want to talk about what we've done, why we've done it, and what we have left to do. I want to update you on the progress we've made, but I also want to be honest about the pitfalls that may still lie ahead.
Most of all, I want every American to know that each action we take and each policy we pursue is driven by a larger vision of America's future -- a future where sustained economic growth creates good jobs and rising incomes; a future where prosperity is fueled not by excessive debt, or reckless speculation, or fleeting profits, but is instead built by skilled, productive workers, by sound investments that will spread opportunity at home and allow this nation to lead the world in the technologies and the innovation and discoveries that will shape the 21st century. That's the America I see. That's the America that Georgetown is preparing so many of you for. That is the future that I know that we can have.
He explained that in order to understand where we have to go from here, we also have to understand how we got here:
Now, this is when the crisis spread from Wall Street to Main Street. After all, the ability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home to a car to, as you all know very well, a college education. It's how stores stock their shelves, and farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll. So when banks stopped lending money, businesses started laying off workers. When laid-off workers had less money to spend, businesses were forced to lay off even more workers. When people couldn't get a car loan, a bad situation at the auto companies became even worse. When people couldn't get home loans, the crisis in the housing market only deepened. Because the infected securities were being traded worldwide and other nations also had weak regulations, this recession soon became global. And when other nations can't afford to buy our goods, it slows our economy even further.
So this is the situation, the downward spiral that we confronted on the day that we took office. So our most urgent task has been to clear away the wreckage, repair the immediate damage to the economy, and do everything we can to prevent a larger collapse. And since the problems we face are all working off each other to feed a vicious economic downturn, we've had no choice but to attack all fronts of our economic crisis simultaneously.
The President spoke at length addressing a sentiment he said he hears most often in letters from people across the country, namely outrage about the government support for banks teetering on failure. As he did throughout the speech, he took time to address opposing arguments and perspectives. To those who take the intuitively and emotionally understandable position that we should simply let the banks fail – "where’s my bailout?" in short – he argued that in truth a dollar in credit can have an immense multiplier effect that will produce a much greater gain in terms of jobs and the broader economy. And in turn, the failure of those banks would have a vastly disproportionate impact on every American. To those who urge the preemptive takeover of banks, "the nationalization argument" as he called it, he gave assurance that his reticence to engage in that strategy was not born of ideological rigidity or moral obligation to shareholders, but rather a belief that this strategy would cause even bigger losses for taxpayers.
Perhaps the heart of the speech was focused on the core weaknesses of the economy that led to the crisis we see now, and the pillars of the new economy the President envisions to ensure such a crisis will be kept at bay in the future:
It is simply not sustainable to have a 21st-century financial system that is governed by 20th-century rules and regulations that allowed the recklessness of a few to threaten the entire economy. It is not sustainable to have an economy where in one year, 40 percent of our corporate profits came from a financial sector that was based on inflated home prices, maxed-out credit cards, over-leveraged banks and overvalued assets. It's not sustainable to have an economy where the incomes of the top 1 percent has skyrocketed while the typical working household has seen their incomes decline by nearly $2,000. That's just not a sustainable model for long-term prosperity.
For even as too many were out there chasing ever-bigger bonuses and short-term profits over the last decade, we continued to neglect the long-term threats to our prosperity: the crushing burden that the rising cost of health care is placing on families and businesses; the failure of our education system to prepare our workers for a new age; the progress that other nations are making on clean energy industries and technologies while we -- we remain addicted to foreign oil; the growing debt that we're passing on to our children. Even after we emerge from the current recession, these challenges will still represent major obstacles that stand in the way of our success in the 21st century. So we've got a lot of work to do.
Now, there's a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men. The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was soon destroyed when a storm hit. But the second is known as the wise man, for when "the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."
It was founded upon a rock. We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity -- a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad.
It's a foundation built upon five pillars that will grow our economy and make this new century another American century: Number one, new rules for Wall Street that will reward drive and innovation, not reckless risk-taking -- (applause); number two, new investments in education that will make our workforce more skilled and competitive -- (applause); number three, new investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and new industries -- (applause); number four, new investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses; and number five, new savings in our federal budget that will bring down the debt for future generations. (Applause.)
That's the new foundation we must build. That's our house built upon a rock. That must be our future -- and my administration's policies are designed to achieve that future.
Towards the end of his speech, he noted that in addition to the fundamental weaknesses of the economy, there is also a fundamental weakness in the political system that must be confronted. He talked about how the prospects for long-term, bold, necessary solutions often give way to 24-hour news cycles and fluctuating poll numbers.
This can’t be one of those times. The challenges are too great. The stakes are too high. I know how difficult it is for Members of Congress in both parties to grapple with some of the big decisions we face right now. It’s more than most congresses and most presidents have to deal with in a lifetime.
But we have been called to govern in extraordinary times. And that requires an extraordinary sense of responsibility – to ourselves, to the men and women who sent us here, and to the many generations whose lives will be affected for good or for ill because of what we do here.
Having been forthright about the challenges ahead, he expressed confidence: America will have that house upon the rock.
MON, APRIL 13, 5:43 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
The first two meetings of the Middle Class Task Force were focused on Green Jobs and the Recovery Act, both of which will create a fundamental shift in our economy and the way it affects and lifts up the middle class here in America. The Green Jobs meeting featured experts explaining how what was once an abstract concept is now being translated into bread on the kitchen table, while the Recovery Act meeting discussed how that legislation will help middle class families, town by town and community by community.
For any family that has sent a child off to college and faced tuition costs that rivaled the total costs of their mortgage, the topic of the third meeting needs much less explanation. On Friday April 17th, the Task Force will hold its next meeting at the University of Missouri St. Louis. The meeting, titled "Making College More Affordable for our Families," will also be attended by Dr. Jill Biden, who has been an educator for 28 years and is currently at Northern Virginia Community College with a focus on English and writing. It's an issue that often gets overlooked in the midst of staggering job losses and stock prices plummeting – but it’s a critical one to the middle class and it will get its proper attention this Friday.
MON, APRIL 13, 2:34 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
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Saying that "the road to recovery must, quite literally, be repaved," Vice President Biden introduced the President at an
event marking the 2,000th approved project under the Recovery Act. The President began his remarks on a different note, however:
Before I discuss the purpose of my visit to the Department of Transportation today, I want to take a moment to say how pleased I am about the rescue of Captain Phillips and his safe return to the USS Boxer this weekend. (Applause.) His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this came as a welcome relief to his family and his crew.
I had a chance to talk to his wife yesterday and, as she put it, she couldn't imagine a better Easter than seeing his safe return. And I am very proud of the efforts of the U.S. military and many other departments and agencies that worked tirelessly to resolve this situation. I share our nation's admiration for Captain Phillips' courage and leadership and selfless concern for his crew.
Pledging a renewed international effort to stem the rise of piracy in that region, he then turned back to the ongoing concern of most Americans: the state of the economy and the President’s plan to address it, starting with the Recovery Act:
Today, I think it's safe to say that this plan is beginning to work. We see it in the clean energy companies rehiring workers; in police departments cancelling planned layoffs; in health care clinics planning to expand to care for more folks in need. We see it in the 120 million families who are already taking home larger paychecks because of our Making Work Pay tax cut.
And we see it particularly in the work of this department --in the plans underway to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, modernize our airports and shipyards, develop high-speed rail networks and restore aging public transit systems. All told, we are making the largest new investment in America's infrastructure since President Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System back in the 1950s.
But what is most remarkable about this effort -- and what I'm here to talk about today -- isn't just the size of our investment, or the number of projects we're investing in -- it's how quickly, efficiently, and responsibly those investments have been made.
Today, because these projects are getting approved more quickly than we thought, thanks to in large part the outstanding work of the TIGER team and folks here at the Department of Transportation, and because these projects are costing less than we thought, we can utter a sentence rarely heard in recent years: This government effort is coming in ahead of schedule and under budget. (Applause.)
Giving a nod to construction workers from Maryland and Virginia in the audience, he applauded their hard work rebuilding the country in more ways than one. He then concluded with a smile: "We don't want to keep them too long. They've already got their hard hats. (Laughter.) They are going to go straight into their cars and they're going to go back to work."
(President Barack Obama is joined by Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Ray LaHood, right, as he gives remarks on the economy Monday April 13, 2009, during a visit
to the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. White House Photo/Pete Souza)FRI, APRIL 10, 6:00 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
This morning, having made
progress on an international response to the financial crisis in Europe, the President met with Treasury Secretary Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, SEC Chair Mary Shapiro and Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan to start working on next steps here at home.
(President Barack Obama confers with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke following their meeting
at the White House, April 10, 2009. White House Photo/Pete Souza)
Meanwhile, the Recovery Act continues to pick up steam…
"Building repairs are underway on public housing in Imboden, Ark., and Cumberland, Ill., states across the country are receiving money to weatherize the homes of low-income residents, and the Silver Star Construction Co. is about to start work on two road-resurfacing projects in south-central Oklahoma with a total cost of $12 million. ‘We were thrilled to get some work,’ said Steve Shawn, president of the company. ‘Some of the work had started slowing down from the economy. The new work came in just around the right time.’ Slowly but surely, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- better known as the economic stimulus package -- is beginning to percolate nationwide, six weeks after President Obama signed the legislation."
"Stephen Lieber, president and CEO of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, looked tired but sounded pleased with the outcome of the trade association’s annual convention in Chicago… Offsetting the economy was the American Recovery and Reconciliation Act of 2009, signed into law by President Barack Obama in February, which by some estimates contains as much as $35 billion in federal dollars directed toward healthcare information technology spending. ‘We had more provider organizations represented here than we’ve ever had,’ Lieber said. ‘What else could you attribute it to? It’s the stimulus… They (providers) knew they had to pick up whatever intelligence they could this week.’ And that understanding of what the stimulus act held in store for them came not just from the educational sessions—government officials were somewhat limited in what they could say, since Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, HHS secretary nominee, has not yet passed through Senate vetting and been sworn in—but by ‘sitting across the coffee table’ at breaks during the show, exchanging ideas and information with IT industry peers, Lieber said."
"The Denver area will have at least 38 active road construction projects this summer totaling $234.4 million, 14 of which are being paid for with federal stimulus money, the Colorado Department of Transportation said Wednesday. "With the funds we are receiving from [the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act], we will now be able to have a construction season similar to those of recent years," CDOT Executive Director Russell George said in a statement. "We will be able to resurface roadways, replace poor bridges and improve safety all across the Denver metro area."
"Kansas will get $18.4 million for child care and disease prevention for children, and $2.1 million for children’s vaccines, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site. Nationwide, $2 billion in stimulus money for the Child Care and Development Fund will help states support child-care services for working families, those seeking employment or those receiving job training or education."
"Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry, Jr. today announced that 67 communities in 27 Michigan counties will benefit from a total of $47.3 million in transportation enhancement (TE) funding. This total includes 22 projects funded through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). The funding will complete 176 miles of bike paths and paved shoulders; enhance local roadways in communities statewide with lighting, landscaping, sidewalks, crosswalks and other improvements; preserve a historic bridge and two historic rail facilities. The projects are planned for the 2009 and 2010 construction seasons and will create or retain more than 1,300 jobs. ‘This is a positive step for Michigan’s economy,’ said Cherry. ‘These enhancement projects will create jobs and improve communities so they are more attractive to residents, businesses and visitors.’"
"Within a couple of years, Kansas City could become a green model for turning around some of its poorest neighborhoods, officials said Thursday. Up to $200 million in federal stimulus money will weatherize every home that needs it in a 150-block area, upgrade bus services and provide much more help, they said. ‘I’m so excited, I'm trying to calm down,’ said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat who came up with the idea for a Green Impact Zone. ‘This is a perfect storm of opportunity.’ Kansas City is taking the lead in the nation by funneling as much stimulus money as possible over two years into rebuilding one area of the city, Cleaver said. Local, state and federal governments have agreed to work together on the plan. ‘The key is we are investing federal money wisely and building an inclusive green economy strong enough to create jobs for residents,’ said Cleaver, who met with more than 50 neighborhood and community leaders Thursday."
"Over the next three years, New Hampshire will receive more than $23 million in federal stimulus money designed to create jobs and increase energy conservation by funding a major boost in home weatherization projects. The program is one piece of the job creation puzzle presented by the more than $900 million targeted for New Hampshire through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February…’This is great, exciting stuff,’ said Charlie Wolfe, weatherization manger for the Dover-based Strafford County Community Action Committee. ‘We’ve talked before what we could do if we had more money, and now we will have a chance to make a big difference.’ According to the Department of Energy, the low- and moderate-income participants in the Weatherization Assistance Program on average see a 32 percent reduction in heating bills – cutting a $2,000 annual heating bill, for example, to about $1,400."
"The state of New Mexico has awarded contracts for four highway reconstruction projects to be funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Gov. Bill Richardson said this week. Construction on the projects, worth a total of nearly $50 million, is scheduled to start within 30 days. Among the projects is U.S. 491, the main north-south thoroughfare through the New Mexico portion of the Navajo Nation. The highway, which has earned a variety of notorious nicknames, is among the most dangerous in the United States. Construction began on the road formerly called U.S. 666, or the ‘Highway to Hell,’ almost a year ago. The ground-breaking ceremony occurred last May, signaling a $100 million collaboration between the state and the Navajo Nation to widen the two-lane corridor to four lanes. The agreement came after a nearly four-year struggle over rights-of-way and state funding. A compromise calling for the Nation to contribute $10 million in cash and in-kind donations was reached in January 2008, just months before construction began. Stimulus money, however, will not be used for the widening project. The state Department of Transportation awarded $8.9 million for rehabilitation of a portion of the two-lane highway, spokesman S.U. Mahesh said."
"The 1,776 jobs expected to be created by the federal stimulus money earmarked for roads and bridges in the Rochester region give this spending package a patriotic ring. But in announcing the job-creation number in Canandaigua on Thursday, Gov. David Paterson noted that the projects must meet federal standards…To date, Paterson has certified projects for about $24 million of the $74 million that the seven-county region is scheduled to receive. The funds are slated to go to 115 projects."
"Take, for instance, what Oregon's Housing and Community Services Department needs to do to secure its $82 million. It has already applied for $38 million to weatherize low-income residents' homes, and just received the first 10 percent of that, but still needs approval from the state legislature to spend it. It is awaiting guidelines for applying for $27 million in tax credits for affordable housing development. It just received the guidelines for applying for $8 million to help prevent homelessness, and expects that it will not spend that money before July. And Oregon will not apply until July for ‘neighborhood stabilization’ funding that will be distributed on a competitive basis for states to renovate or demolish abandoned homes. In fact, it is still getting ready to spend $19.6 million that it received for a similar purpose from a housing recovery bill President George W. Bush signed in late July. It is a lot of hoops to jump through, but officials say it is worth it. ‘This is a huge investment for us,’ said Rick Crager, Oregon's deputy housing director. The process ‘is not an issue for us. It's important that we're accountable.’"
"U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett today announced that $2.4 million in federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used for flood control projects along Plum Creek in Hays County. ‘Upgrading flood control along Plum Creek will protect people and property along the rapidly growing Kyle-Buda corridor,’ said Rep. Doggett, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and House Budget Committee. ‘This recovery funding will create jobs, promote future construction in Hays County, and reduce the danger from any future flooding.’"
"United States Senators Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., along with Congressman Nick Rahall, W.Va.-3, today announced that West Virginia is slated to receive more than $1,643,000 in federal funding as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The monies will be distributed through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a $197 million spending program across the country… The funds will be used for overseeing the assessment and cleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directly paying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regulated tanks where the responsible party is unknown, unwilling, unable, or the clean up is an emergency response. ‘Many West Virginia families rely on groundwater as a source of their safe drinking water,’ said Byrd. ‘This funding will help to eliminate the backlog of more than 950 underground tank clean-up projects in West Virginia. And through this funding we will both create jobs and improve the health and safety of West Virginia communities.’ ‘The protection of West Virginia's drinking water is essential. West Virginia families should be able to trust that the water coming from their faucet is safe," said Senator Rockefeller."
"A Teton County pathway project will receive $300,000 to complete a route from Jackson to the Gros Ventre River in Grand Teton National Park. On Thursday, the Wyoming Department of Transportation Commission approved $300,000 of federal economic stimulus money for the first phase of the pathway along Highway 89 north of Jackson. Tim Young, director of Friends of Pathways, said the stimulus money likely will provide the final funding needed to finish the path. Teton County has won competitive federal grants totaling $3 million, but Young said that money was just shy of what it will take to finish the project. ‘This stimulus funding helps bridge the gap,’ he said."
THU, APRIL 2, 10:26 AM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
While the President was in London yesterday working on finding an international solution to the economic crisis, your government back in DC was busy getting a domestic solution implemented. The "Making Work Pay" tax cut kicked in yesterday, check your paycheck for a little something extra to pump into the economy.
Rob Hotakainen, Sacramento Bee - April 2, 2009
Your paychecks are about to get fatter, and that's no April Fool's Day joke. The income tax cuts included in the economic stimulus plan passed by Congress in February kick in today. The White House said today it should put $6.4 billion new dollars in the hands of California workers. Overall, 12.6 million families in California should cash in, the White House said. The typical American family is expected to receive about $800 in extra cash, an attempt to jolt the economy.
The Vice President was in North Carolina with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack yesterday
talking about the Recovery Act and rural communities, telling them amongst other things, "All told, we're going to deliver more than $20 billion -- $20 billion -- even in Washington, that's a lot of money -- $20 billion in loans and grants to improve economic opportunity and the quality of life in rural America; $20 billion set aside for rural America. And the money is going to go to improving things which are not high on a lot of people's lists, but will make a big difference -- like improving broadband access so the farmer can sit there and get online and know exactly what his product is being sold for not just the next county over, but across the country. And so your kids can be brought into the same kind of opportunity that kids all over the world are being brought into."
(Vice President Joe Biden speaks at an event with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack about economic stimulus spending during a visit to the volunteer fire department in Pikeville, North Carolina, Wednesday, April 1, 2009. The Vice President announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun disbursing the first wave of the $10 billion in guaranteed housing loans provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
And finally, Education Secretary Arne Duncan unleashed a massive infusion of $44 billion in education funds from the Recovery Act yesterday, read the
press release or check out the
Ed Recovery page.
Kimberly S. Wetzel, Contra Costa Times – April 1, 2009
Good news for cash-strapped school districts: $44 billion worth of education stimulus funds is now available, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Wednesday. While $11 billion will be distributed immediately for special education purposes and low-income Title I schools, $32.6 billion in stabilization funds comes with strings attached. States and districts first must commit to a four-pronged reform approach that shows teacher effectiveness and develops a comprehensive data system, among other things. "Given our economic circumstances, it's critical that money go out quickly, but it's even more important that it be spent wisely," Duncan said via teleconference from Maryland. "We must be much more open and honest about what works in the classroom and what doesn't."
TUE, MARCH 24, 8:58 AM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
With the G20 meeting approaching on April 2
nd, this morning the President published a rare "simultaneous op-ed" in thirty papers around the world,
calling for a collective effort to address the economic peril found in all corners of the globe. "The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose," he writes. His op-ed appeared in the following publications:
Al Watan (Gulf States), Arab Times (Gulf States), Asharq Al Awsat (Arab-wide paper in Arabic), The Australian (Australia), Bangkok Post (Thailand), Chicago Tribune (United States), Clarin (Argentina), Corriere della Sera (Italy), Die Welt (Germany), El Pais (Madrid), El Mercurio (Chile), Eleftyropiea (Greece), Estado de Sao Paulo (Brazil), Gulf News (Gulf States), The Hindustan Times/ The Hindu (India), International Herald Tribune (London), Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark), Le Monde (Paris), Lidove Noviny (Czech), Los Angeles Times (United States), The News (Pakistan), NRC Handelsblad (Netherlands), Saudi Gazette (Saudi Arabia), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Straits Times (Singapore), Sunday Times (South Africa), Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden), Syndey Morning Herald (Australia), WProst (Poland), Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)
The President calls for a coordinated approach to three central issues, namely the need to "stimulate growth" (pointing to the Recovery Act as an example); the need to "restore the credit that businesses and consumers depend upon" including an "honest assessment of the balance sheets of our major banks" (pointing to the plans laid out yesterday); and extending "a hand to countries and people who face the greatest risk" to help emerging economies remain stable and avoid plunging the global economy into deeper trouble.
The President closes with a broader vision:
While these actions can help get us out of crisis, we cannot settle for a return to the status quo. We must put an end to the reckless speculation and spending beyond our means; to the bad credit, over-leveraged banks and absence of oversight that condemns us to bubbles that inevitably bust.
Only coordinated international action can prevent the irresponsible risk-taking that caused this crisis. That is why I am committed to seizing this opportunity to advance comprehensive reforms of our regulatory and supervisory framework.
All of our financial institutions -- on Wall Street and around the globe -- need strong oversight and common sense rules of the road. All markets should have standards for stability and a mechanism for disclosure. A strong framework of capital requirements should protect against future crises. We must crack down on offshore tax havens and money laundering.
Rigorous transparency and accountability must check abuse, and the days of out-of-control compensation must end. Instead of patchwork efforts that enable a race to the bottom, we must provide the clear incentives for good behavior that foster a race to the top.
I know that America bears our share of responsibility for the mess that we all face. But I also know that we need not choose between a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism and an oppressive government-run economy. That is a false choice that will not serve our people or any people.
MON, MARCH 23, 12:16 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
Today the President is hosting an event focused on "Investing in Our Clean Energy Future," with experts from inside and outside government (
watch his remarks live-streamed at 12:30). So it’s appropriate that this edition of Recovery in Action focus on green jobs, and given that Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of featured speakers, it’s also appropriate that we start off with an inspiring story out of Massachusetts.
Erin Ailworth of the
Boston Globe had an in-depth piece on the "Renewable job market":
If you're readying a resume, it might help to use recycled paper. The clean-tech and green industries in Massachusetts are hiring.
Companies looking to add employees include Aeronautica Windpower in Plymouth, lithium-ion battery maker Boston-Power Inc. in Westborough, and Conservation Services Group, also in Westborough. Eco-friendly experience is a plus, but not required.
The workforce expansions are being partly spurred by the federal economic stimulus package, which includes billions for home energy-efficiency upgrades and an extension of a tax credit for renewable energy technologies such as wind power. Within the next two years, stimulus spending is expected to create or save 79,000 jobs in Massachusetts, and an estimated 3.5 million nationwide, according to the federal government.
Soon after Congress passed the nearly $800 billion bill last month, Stephen Cowell, chief executive of Conservation Services Group, said he told his staff, "Get the resumes together." In the last six months, the energy-efficiency company has hired about 50 employees in its main office. Because of the stimulus bill as well as several new contracts, Cowell plans to add 200 more jobs this year. The company currently employs about 400 and does business in 22 states. At least 30 to 40 of the new jobs will be in Massachusetts, he said.
"We're sort of the tip of the iceberg," Cowell said. "A couple of hundred people will be hired here, but that means that 2,000 people will be hired at the local level to do the work that we spec out and help facilitate."
It goes through company after company and industry after industry from there. And we’re off!
Governor Mitch Daniels announced plans to distribute $132 million in federal stimulus funds for energy conservation. The money will go to weatherization projects for low income homeowners who are already a part of the state's energy assistance program. The program's budget will be expanded by a multiple of 11. Groups looking to do the work can apply beginning next week. "We will be looking for those organizations, non-profit in every case, who can make a good showing that they can achieve the most conservation, help the most Hoosier households per dollar spent in the shortest amount of time," said Gov. Daniels. Daniels said 2300 jobs will be created by the stimulus money.
The federal economic stimulus will send Nevada about $37 million to weatherize buildings and homes and another $28 million to train workers for green jobs, Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said Friday. The Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee unanimously voted to move forward with Horsford’s bill, SB152, which would set guidelines for how to spend federal economic stimulus money meant to create "green jobs." Horsford said Nevada could get training for at least 3,200 unemployed or underemployed workers, and provide money to weatherize low-income housing, schools and public buildings.
At the 25th annual Home Show, green is in… Among the traditional remodelers, homebuilders and lenders are signs proclaiming the rebates, tax incentives and money-saving offers on the next generation of green building products. Businesses are hoping the incentives, many of them introduced with the recent economic stimulus package, will draw consumers looking to build or renovate into what has been a slow market.
In his latest effort to combat global warming, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to enlist the state's hard-luck youth. The governor on Monday announced the new California Green Corps, a statewide effort to train young adults between 16 and 24 years old to work in the state's fledgling green-tech industry. "It's the kind of program President Obama envisioned when he put together the economic stimulus package. It's all about jobs, jobs, jobs," Schwarzenegger said after touring a solar-installation certificate program at a Sacramento community college. The program will be administered by Schwarzenegger's volunteerism czar Karen Baker and will receive about $20 million in initial funding. Half the money will come from the U.S. Department of Labor as part of the federal stimulus package, while the other half is expected to be raised from the private sector. The idea is to create a 20-month pilot program in at least 10 locations to train at least 1,000 people for jobs such as solar-panel installation and sheet-metal manufacturing for wind turbines, Schwarzenegger said.
FRI, MARCH 20, 3:41 PM EST
Posted by Cammie Croft
We welcome OMB Director Peter Orszag, who has agreed to lend his expertise for a post discussing the new Fiscal Responsibility Summit Report. Read Director Orszag regularly at his own blog at http://www.omb.gov.
Today, the Administration is releasing the Fiscal Responsibility Summit Report (pdf) that the President announced during the final session of the Summit on February 23.
The Summit was convened so that the President could solicit ideas and discuss solutions to our long-term fiscal imbalance with a broad array of national leaders—from both political parties, from in and out of government, and from Washington, DC and the country as a whole. The President and the Administration are committed to seeking out the best ideas, wherever they may be found, and the Fiscal Responsibility Summit was an important early step in this vital effort.
The Report offers a summary of the Summit’s events, which encapsulates the comments and insights contributed by the full array of Summit participants.
As I have stated elsewhere, our nation is currently being forced to grapple with a pair of trillion-dollar deficits. One is the trillion-dollar deficit between what the economy is producing each year and what it could produce. The other is the trillion-dollar budget deficits that this Administration is inheriting.
The first deficit, the trillion-dollar income gap this year, is an urgent crisis. The longer it persists, the more jobs that are lost, the more income that households lose, and the more businesses that are closed. The Recovery Act that was enacted last month is intended to address that crisis.
The second deficit, the budget deficit, may be somewhat less urgent, but it's no less important. Over the medium to long term, the nation is on an unsustainable fiscal course, and to be responsible, we must begin the process of fiscal reform now.
That's why the President convened the Fiscal Responsibility Summit, because we can no longer let the urgent get in the way of the important. In charting a new fiscal course, we need to be clear in diagnosing the problem. The single most important thing we can do to put this nation back on a sustainable long-term fiscal course is to slow the growth rate of health care costs.
So, as I stated during my remarks at the Summit, let me be very clear: Health care reform is entitlement reform. The path to fiscal responsibility must run directly through health care.
This is part of the reason why the President had said, time and again, that he is committed to reforming the health system this year. And at the Summit, there was consensus on this point across a range of voices. From Senator Alexander and Douglas Holtz-Eakin on one side of the aisle, to Senator Baucus and Senator Dodd and Representative Waxman on the other, all agreed to try to tackle health care this year.
With the President’s leadership, and with the support of a diverse set of voices, we can reform health care this year, start to bend the curve on long-term costs, and get our economy back on a path of long-term fiscal sustainability.
FRI, MARCH 20, 2:00 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
The President has made a point of looking for ways to puncture the presidential bubble that has so often resulted in America’s leaders losing touch with the majority of the America people, whether it’s been by fighting to keep his blackberry so he can always hear from a variety of voices outside the White House, or by traveling to town halls to get out of Washington altogether. This afternoon, when the President and the Vice President met with representatives from the National Conference of State Legislatures, he brought some lessons home with him from his
town halls in California this week, namely the need for investments and the need for accountability in those investments:
Over the last two days I've been traveling in California, talking with Americans about the challenges they're facing as a result of this economic crisis. And these are challenges that all of you know very well. You're on the front lines of this recession. It's your states that are struggling with shrinking revenues, your budgets are being cut, services that your families depend on in a moment of need are being placed under tremendous strain. And as a former state legislator, I know how difficult your work can be, and how important it is to have a strong partner in Washington. I want you to know I'm committed to being that kind of partner.
The President heard a lot about the need for those investments in California, but he also made clear today in the meeting that the accountability effort, which only began with
Recovery.gov, will have teeth:
That starts with a fundamental commitment. Decisions about how Recovery Act dollars are spent will be based on the merits. Let me repeat that: Decisions about how Recovery money will be spent will be based on the merits.
They will not be made as a way of doing favors for lobbyists. Any lobbyist who wants to talk with a member of my administration about a particular Recovery Act project will have to submit their thoughts in writing, and we will post it on the Internet for all to see. (Applause.) If any member of my administration does meet with a lobbyist about a Recovery Act project, every American will be able to go online and see what that meeting was about. These are unprecedented restrictions that will help ensure that lobbyists don't stand in the way of our recovery.
And this plan cannot and will not be an excuse for waste and abuse. Whenever a project comes up for review, we're going to ask a simple question: Does it advance the core mission of the Recovery Act? Does it jumpstart job creation? Does it lay the foundation for lasting prosperity?
The initiatives that will get priority will be ones that have demonstrated how they meet this test; initiatives that maximize the number of jobs we are creating so we can get the most bang out of every taxpayer buck; initiatives that help make health care more affordable, and rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, or provide other enduring benefits to the American people.
The President thanked the U.S. Conference of Mayors for their commitment to the effort as well, with Vice President Biden having
sent a letter (pdf) to them today detailing the accountability standards that will be applied. The President pledged that he would lead by example, forgoing much needed repairs in the Executive offices because they simply don’t fit the mission of the Recovery Act, but he held up Harry Truman, who crusaded against waste, fraud, and profiteering in the war effort as an even better example: "What Harry Truman understood was that spending tax dollars wisely isn’t just about keeping our books straight, it’s about fulfilling our obligation as keepers of the public trust."
(The President and Vice President speaks to state legislators about implementation of the Recovery Act in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. White House Photo, Chuck Kennedy, 3/20/09)
THU, MARCH 19, 6:49 PM EST
Posted by Jesse Lee
The second meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, dealing with the Recovery Act and the middle class, concluded this afternoon. The
staff report (pdf) issued as the meeting was set to begin is an insightful document, explaining how over the past decade, and to degree the last three decades, media family income has become decoupled from productivity in the broad economy. The report then goes on to explain how the Recovery Act goes beyond simply providing a generic stimulus to the economy, and instead provides countless avenues by which to correct that underlying disconnect. The Recovery Act is primarily focused on providing a foundation for the long-term health of the middle class and providing a structure for the middle class to be a full stakeholder in the economy’s success again. The report concludes:
Conclusion
There are, of course, many other ways that ARRA helps to offset the economic stress that so many families are experiencing today. Some of these are hard to quantify. For example, the expansion of broadband technology into areas that currently lack internet access could have many positive benefits, ranging from greater access to information and entertainment to the ability to job hunt across greater areas. Folks who take advantage of ARRA’s weatherization subsidies to better insulate their homes could save hundreds of dollars per year on energy costs. Someone who loses his or her job and at the same time loses his or her health insurance coverage can benefit from a 65% subsidy to COBRA, a program that allows former employees to keep their health coverage for a period of time after they are laid off. Thanks to the ARRA expansion of Trade Adjustment Assistance, a service worker laid off due to trade competition will soon receive help that was previously reserved for manufacturing workers.10 And state fiscal relief is already helping to prevent teachers from being laid off in public schools, a benefit that means a lot to families with kids in these classrooms.
In other words, there are many ways this comprehensive legislation will help middle-class families as they struggle to deal with a period of great economic turmoil. Yet the President and Vice President recognize that helping families make it through these hard times is just one part of their agenda for lifting up the middle class. They also are acutely aware of the disconnect between growth and middle-class incomes that persisted even in good times. They know, therefore, that an economic recovery is necessary, but not wholly sufficient to lift the fortunes of the middle class and to correct the economic imbalances that held them back in recent years.
In this regard, future meetings of the Middle Class Taskforce will tackle those policy matters that taskforce members believe will help create the policy "glue" to reconnect growth and middle-class prosperity. In April, for example, we plan to tackle an issue of pressing concern to so many middle-income families with children: college affordability.
(Vice President Joe Biden answers a question at a Middle Class Task Force Town Hall Meeting at New Flyer of America Bus Company, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Thursday, March 11, 2009. Also in attendance were Secretaries Shaun Donovan, Arne Duncan, Ray LaHood, Tom Vilsack, and Senator Amy Klobuchar. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Here is some of what the press reported out of today’s meeting, which happened at the New Flyer of America Co. in Minnesota, a leader in transit innovation and low-emission, alternative fueled vehicles:
Vice President Joe Biden and four members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet brought their best sales pitch for rebuilding America’s middle class to St. Cloud today.
"The goal is basic," Biden told a crowd of more than 400 gathered at a town hall forum inside the New Flyer of America bus assembly plant. "Getting the vast majority of people feeling enough confidence to say to their children, ‘Work hard, play by the rules, love your country and look out for others, and there’s nothing you can’t do. I’m absolutely positive we can restore that."
Biden and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, flew into St. Cloud Regional Airport this morning, before heading to the forum.
A full house was on hand for the Vice President's town-hall style meeting in St. Cloud.
The focus of the meeting today was the ways the middle-class can benefit from the $787 billion stimulus measure President Obama signed last month.
Local residents had a chance to speak directly to the Vice President and other officials.
The session was held at New Flyer of America Bus Company, which produces low-emission, alternative fuel vehicles.
More than 90 people were hired there last year.
It's 650 employees are working to fill a two-year backlog of orders.
Biden also said the stimulus will do more than create temporary, make-work jobs. "Built into the Recovery Act are jobs that will be maintained. It will lay the foundation for a new economy, an economy for the 21st century."
"We'll measure our success, whether it's four years or eight years, by one thing: If we can raise the standard of living for middle-class people."
The White House has described New Flyer of America as "a leader in transit innovation and low-emission, alternative fueled vehicles."
Biden praised the company today and pointed to the fact that $8 billion will be available to local governments to buy new mass transit vehicles.
Not incidentally, New Flyer also is adding jobs at the plant at a time when most of the nation's manufacturers are furiously shedding them.
"We'll measure our success in these four or eight years based on one thing: whether or not we've been able to raise the standard of living for middle-class people," Biden said. "We've got to get this nation growing again."
The forum at New Flyer of America Inc. was the second meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, a Biden-led group of Cabinet members and top administration officials. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and the secretaries of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and Education joined Biden on a stage surrounded by new electric hybrid buses manufactured at the plant.
After giving an overview of programs that will get a boost from the economic stimulus and explaining how the middle class would benefit, Biden and the others fielded questions from an audience that included members of the public, students and teachers from local colleges, transit officials and New Flyer employees.
Joyce Helens, president of St. Cloud Technical College, told Biden and the others that colleges are facing a funding crisis, and she asked what the federal government could do to help make sure colleges are still able to train workers.
Biden said billions in financial aid will get more students in college and keep them there to finish their degrees. That potential boost in enrollment could help offset budget cuts while training workers for good-paying jobs, he said.