Barack Obama on economy stimulus plan
- 00:01:23
- ITN
Barack Obama on economy stimulus plan
Barack Obama has warned that things will get much worse if an $827 billion (£553bn) stimulus bill is not passed promptly by Congress. As the world watches to see how the new Democratic President and Congress respond to the worst US recession in 70 years, Mr Obama has hit the road to drum up support for the bill that the Senate has been grappling with. The House of Representatives has already approved an $819 billion (£548bn) economic recovery plan, while the US Senate is expected to pass the latest measure, but fashioning a compromise could be difficult because the two versions differ on tax cuts and spending. The President, in office for just three weeks, flew to Elkhart, Indiana, for a meeting with some 1,700 residents of a city whose vehicle manufacturing industry has been hit hard by the recession. He told them: "I am calling on Congress to pass this bill immediately. Folks here in Elkhart and across America need help right now, and they can't afford to keep on waiting for folks in Washington to get this done." He added: "I can say with complete confidence that endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will only bring deepening disaster." Mr Obama appears likely to win an initial vote later for the package which is aimed at reviving the struggling US economy. The bill, which comprises a mix of tax cuts, new spending and will create up to 4 million jobs, could then be passed by the Senate on Tuesday. Mr Obama said an independent, bipartisan board will oversee spending in the massive economic stimulus package to ensure that the money is not wasted. He continued: "We're going to set up an independent board made up of Democrats and Republicans to review how the money is being spent, because we've got to make sure that it's not being wasted on somebody's special project that may not actually create help for people."
ITN | February 10, 2009
