20090214

20090214 - Armand Tanzarian

This week

I spent some time with Americans across the country

who are hurting because of our economic crisis

People closing the businesses they scrimped and saved to start

Families losing the homes that were their stake in the American Dream

Folks who have given up trying to get ahead

and given in to the stark reality of just trying to get by

They’ve been lookingto those they sent to Washington

for some hope at a time when they need it most

This morning

I’m pleased to say that after a lively debate

full of healthy difference of opinion

we have delivered real and tangible progress

for the American people

Congress has passed my economic recovery plan

an ambitious plan at a time we badly need it

It will save or create more than 3.5 million

jobs over the next two years

ignite spending by business and consumers alike

and lay a new foundation for our lasting

economic growth and prosperity

This is a major milestone on our road to recovery

and I want to thank the Members of Congress

who came together in common purpose to make it happen

Because they did

I will sign this legislation into law shortly

and we’ll begin making the immediate investments

necessary to put people back to work doing

the work America needs done

The work of modernizing our health care system

saving billions of dollars and countless lives

and upgrading classrooms libraries

and labs in our children’s schools across America

The work of building wind turbines and solar panels

and the smart grid necessary to transport

the clean energy they create

and laying broadband internet lines to connect rural homes

schools and businesses to the information superhighway

The work of repairing our crumbling roads and bridges

and our dangerously deficient dams and levees

And we’ll help folks who’ve lost their jobs

through no fault of their own by providing

the unemployment benefits they need

and protecting the health care they count on

Now some fear we won’t be able to effectively implement

a plan of this size and scope

and I understand their skepticism

Washington hasn’t set a very good example in recent years

And with so much on the line

it’s time to begin doing things differently

That’s why our goal must be to spend

these precious dollars with unprecedented accountability

responsibility and transparency

I’ve tasked my cabinet and staff to set up the kind of management

oversight and disclosure that will help ensure that

and I will challenge state and local governments to do the same

Once the plan is put into action

a new website - Recovery DOT gov - will allow

any American to watch where the money goes

and weigh in with comments and questions

and I encourage every American to do so

Ultimately this is your money

and you deserve to know where it’s going and how it’s spent

This historic step won’t be the end of

what we do to turn our economy around

but the beginning

The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread

Our response must be equal to the task

For our plan to succeed we must stabilize repair

and reform our banking system

and get credit flowing again to families and businesses

We must write and enforce new rules of the road

to stop unscrupulous speculators

from undermining our economy ever again

We must stem the spread of foreclosures

and do everything we can to help responsible

homeowners stay in their homes

And in the weeks ahead

I will submit a proposal for the federal budget

that will begin to restore the discipline

these challenging times demand

Our debt has doubled over the past eight years

and we’ve inherited a trillion-dollar deficit

which we must add to in the short term

in order to jumpstart our sick economy

But our long-term economic growth demands

that we tame our burgeoning federal deficit

that we invest in the things we need

and dispense with the things we don’t

This is a challenging agenda

but one we can and will achieve

This morning

I’m reminded of words President Kennedy spoke

in another time of uncertainty

Do not pray for easy lives Pray to be stronger men

Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers

Pray for powers equal to your tasks

America we will prove equal to this task

It will take time and it will take effort

but working together

we will turn this crisis into opportunity

and emerge from our painful present into a brighter future

After a week spent with the fundamentally decent men

and women of this nation

I have never been more certain of that

Thank you