Obama Starts Push to Cast Stimulus Bill as a Success
President Obama spoke about the economic recovery act on Wednesday, a year to the day that he signed the bill into law
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: February 17, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Obama defended his year-old economic recovery package on Wednesday, arguing that the package, major legislative achievement of his presidency so far, has created or saved as many as two million new jobs, lowered taxes for 95 percent of Americans and spared the country a potentially disastrous depression.
“One year later, it is largely thanks to the Recovery Act that a second depression is no longer a possibility,” the president said. “It’s one of the main reasons the economy has gone from shrinking to by about 6 percent to growing about 6 percent.”
“One year later, it is largely thanks to the Recovery Act that a second depression is no longer a possibility,” the president said. “It’s one of the main reasons the economy has gone from shrinking to by about 6 percent to growing about 6 percent.”
He added, “Our work is far from over, but we have rescued this economy from the worst of this crisis.”
Mr. Obama’s appearance was part of an intensive effort by the White House to sell Americans on the virtues of the stimulus bill. This week, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., cabinet secretaries and other administration officials are fanning out to 35 communities across the country, where they are talking up the measure and announcing new programs, like the one unveiled by Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood on Wednesday to pay for 50 new projects.
The $787 billion stimulus bill, a package of tax cuts and public-works spending that is formally named the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has sparked debate about whether it has actually helped the economy. Surveys show that many Americans do not have a clear understanding of what the bill has done; often, it is confused with the bank bailout.
With the unemployment rate at 9.7 percent nationally, and higher in some states, Republicans have been able to capitalize on public doubts about the program and concerns about the soaring national debt. They are asserting that the stimulus bill has not created any new jobs — and may in fact have done harm.
“In the year since the Democrats’ stimulus program was enacted, over three million jobs have been lost, billions of dollars have been wasted, and an unprecedented debt has been passed on to our children — these are not the results that America hoped for,” Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Republican whip, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Struggling small business owners, families and young workers see trillions in debt, on their tab, and still no job creation.”
In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated last fall that by that time, the bill had created between 600,000 and 1.6 million jobs. Independent economists say that while it is hard to ascertain precise job-creation figures, the Republicans’ assertion of “no job creation” is inaccurate.
For Mr. Obama, though, the message that things could have been even worse is not an appealing one to deliver. He acknowledged on Wednesday that he has had difficulty generating enthusiasm among ordinary voters, given the economic hardships many Americans feel.
“Part of the controversy also is that, despite the extraordinary work that has been done through the Recovery Act, millions of Americans are still without jobs, millions more are struggling to make ends meet, so it doesn’t feel like much of a recovery yet,” the president said. “I understand that.”
Mr. Obama also borrowed a line from Congressional Democrats, who have been criticizing Republicans like Mr. Cantor for voting against the measure but then rushing back home to scoop up stimulus dollars for projects in their districts.
Under the headline “Eric Cantor Is a Hypocrite,” the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday issued a news release about how Mr. Cantor supported a high-speed rail project financed by the stimulus bill, saying it would create 185,000 Virginia jobs.
Mr. Obama put it this way: “There are those, let’s face it, across the aisle who have tried to score political points by attacking what we did — even as many of them show up at ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects in their districts.”