Obama implores Congress to do something about economy

Turkmenistan News.Net
Thursday 8th January, 2009

President-elect Barack Obama has delivered what has been described as an emergency policy speech in Virginia.

He took the unusual step of delivering the speech to urge Congress to act quickly on his economic recovery program.

During the speech he warned that inaction by Congress could extend the current recession for many years.

On his economic stimulus plan, Mr Obama said: “I do not believe that it is too late to change course, but if nothing is done, this recession could linger for years. Every day we wait or point our fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings."

The Obama stimulus plan has been assessed as costing around $800 billion.

The money will be used to loosen credit for consumers, create three million jobs and boost spending on infrastructure projects around the country.

Meanwhile, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Congressman John Boehner of Ohio, has expressed concern about the size of the Obama stimulus plan and its impact on the federal budget deficit.

He said while Congress needed to solve the crisis, it also needed to address the amount of debt that would be built up in a government bailout.

Democratic congressional leaders had hoped to pass Mr. Obama's economic recovery plan before he took office so that it would be ready for his signature on January 20.

The plan is now expected to be late.

Have your say on this story