President Barrack Obama (D)

***(Editor’s Note: Barack Obama is the President of the United States  and ‘The Lawton Town Crier’ appreciates Mr. Obama’s many contributions to our site, most notably his “Weekly Adresses,”.  His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lawton Town Crier, or other contributors.***

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama called on Congress to seize this opportunity – one that may not come again for decades – and finally pass health care reform. With families unable to keep up with skyrocketing costs, premiums rising three times faster than wages, businesses shedding jobs, and deficits piling up every year, reform simply cannot wait. The American people and the American economy need reform that improves care, lowers costs, strengthens businesses, and gives families the choices and security they deserve.

The full audio of the address is HERE. The video can be viewed online at www.whitehouse.gov.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, July 18th, 2009

Right now in Washington, our Senate and House of Representatives are both debating proposals for health insurance reform. Today, I want to speak with you about the stakes of this debate, for our people and for the future of our nation.

This is an issue that affects the health and financial well-being of every single American and the stability of our entire economy.

It’s about every family unable to keep up with soaring out of pocket costs and premiums rising three times faster than wages. Every worker afraid of losing health insurance if they lose their job, or change jobs. Everyone who’s worried that they may not be able to get insurance or change insurance if someone in their family has a pre-existing condition.

It’s about a woman in Colorado who told us that when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, her insurance company – the one she’d paid over $700 a month to – refused to pay for her treatment. She had to use up her retirement funds to save her own life.

It’s about a man from Maryland who sent us his story – a middle class college graduate whose health insurance expired when he changed jobs. During that time, he needed emergency surgery, and woke up $10,000 in debt – debt that has left him unable to save, buy a home, or make a career change.

It’s about every business forced to shut their doors, or shed jobs, or ship them overseas. It’s about state governments overwhelmed by Medicaid, federal budgets consumed by Medicare, and deficits piling higher year after year.

This is the status quo. This is the system we have today. This is what the debate in Congress is all about: Whether we’ll keep talking and tinkering and letting this problem fester as more families and businesses go under, and more Americans lose their coverage. Or whether we’ll seize this opportunity – one we might not have again for generations – and finally pass health insurance reform this year, in 2009.

Now we know there are those who will oppose reform no matter what. We know the same special interests and their agents in Congress will make the same old arguments, and use the same scare tactics that have stopped reform before because they profit from this relentless escalation in health care costs. And I know that once you’ve seen enough ads and heard enough people yelling on TV, you might begin to wonder whether there’s a grain of truth to what they’re saying. So let me take a moment to answer a few of their arguments.

First, the same folks who controlled the White House and Congress for the past eight years as we ran up record deficits will argue – believe it or not – that health reform will lead to record deficits. That’s simply not true. Our proposals cut hundreds of billions of dollars in unnecessary spending and unwarranted giveaways to insurance companies in Medicare and Medicaid. They change incentives so providers will give patients the best care, not just the most expensive care, which will mean big savings over time. And we have urged Congress to include a proposal for a standing commission of doctors and medical experts to oversee cost-saving measures.

I want to be very clear: I will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade. And by helping improve quality and efficiency, the reforms we make will help bring our deficits under control in the long-term.

Those who oppose reform will also tell you that under our plan, you won’t get to choose your doctor – that some bureaucrat will choose for you. That’s also not true. Michelle and I don’t want anyone telling us who our family’s doctor should be – and no one should decide that for you either. Under our proposals, if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. If you like your current insurance, you keep that insurance. Period, end of story.

Finally, opponents of health reform warn that this is all some big plot for socialized medicine or government-run health care with long lines and rationed care. That’s not true either. I don’t believe that government can or should run health care. But I also don’t think insurance companies should have free reign to do as they please.

That’s why any plan I sign must include an insurance exchange: a one-stop shopping marketplace where you can compare the benefits, cost and track records of a variety of plans – including a public option to increase competition and keep insurance companies honest – and choose what’s best for your family. And that’s why we’ll put an end to the worst practices of the insurance industry: no more yearly caps or lifetime caps; no more denying people care because of pre-existing conditions; and no more dropping people from a plan when they get too sick. No longer will you be without health insurance, even if you lose your job or change jobs.

The good news is that people who know the system best are rallying to the cause of change. Just this past week, the American Nurses Association, representing millions of nurses across America, and the American Medical Association, representing doctors across our nation, announced their support because they’ve seen first-hand the need for health insurance reform.

They know we cannot continue to cling to health industry practices that are bankrupting families, and undermining American businesses, large and small. They know we cannot let special interests and partisan politics stand in the way of reform – not this time around.

The opponents of health insurance reform would have us do nothing. But think about what doing nothing, in the face of ever increasing costs, will do to you and your family.

So today, I am urging the House and the Senate, Democrats and Republicans, to seize this opportunity, and vote for reform that gives the American people the best care at the lowest cost; that reins in insurance companies, strengthens businesses and finally gives families the choices they need and the security they deserve.

Thanks.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, April 4, 2009

In this new century, we live in a world that has grown smaller and more interconnected than at any time in history. Threats to our nation’s security and economy can no longer be kept at bay by oceans or by borders drawn on maps. The terrorists who struck our country on 9/11 plotted in Hamburg, trained in Kandahar and Karachi, and threaten countries across the globe. Cars in Boston and Beijing are melting ice caps in the Arctic that disrupt weather patterns everywhere. The theft of nuclear material from the former Soviet Union could lead to the extermination of any city on earth. And reckless speculation by bankers in New York and London has fueled a global recession that is inflicting pain on workers and families around the world and across America.

The challenges of our time threaten the peace and prosperity of every single nation, and no one nation can meet them alone. That is why it is sometimes necessary for a President to travel abroad in order to protect and strengthen our nation here at home. That is what I have done this week.

I began my trip by attending a summit of the G20 – the countries that represent the world’s largest economies – because we know that the success of America’s economy is inextricably linked to that of the global economy. If people in other countries cannot spend, that means they cannot buy the goods we produce here in America, which means more lost jobs and more families hurting. Just yesterday, we learned that we lost hundreds of thousands more jobs last month, adding to the millions we’ve lost since this recession began. And if we continue to let banks and other financial institutions around the world act recklessly and irresponsibly, that affects institutions here at home as credit dries up, and people can’t get loans to buy a home or car, to run a small business or pay for college.

Ultimately, the only way out of a recession that is global in scope is with a response that is global in coordination. That is why I’m pleased that after two days of careful negotiation, the G20 nations have agreed on a series of unprecedented steps that I believe will be a turning point in our pursuit of a global economic recovery. All of us are now moving aggressively to get our banks lending again. All of us are working to spur growth and create jobs. And all of us have agreed on the most sweeping reform of our financial regulatory framework in a generation – reform that will help end the risky speculation and market abuses that have cost so many people so much.

I also met this past week with the leaders of China and Russia, working to forge constructive relationships to address issues of common concern, while being frank with each other about where we disagree. President Hu and I agreed that the link between China’s economy and ours is of great mutual benefit, and we established a new Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the U.S. and China. President Medvedev and I discussed our shared commitment to a world without nuclear weapons, and we signed a declaration putting America and Russia on the path to a new treaty to further reduce our nuclear arsenals. Tomorrow, I will lay out additional steps we must take to secure the world’s loose nuclear materials and stop the spread of these deadly weapons.

Finally, I met yesterday with our NATO allies and asked them for additional civilian support and assistance for our efforts in Afghanistan. That is where al Qaeda trains, plots, and threatens to launch their next attack. And that attack could occur in any nation, which means that every nation has a stake in ensuring that our mission in Afghanistan succeeds.

As we have worked this week to find common ground and strengthen our alliances, we have not solved all of our problems. And we have not agreed on every point or every issue in every meeting. But we have made real and unprecedented progress – and will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead.

Because in the end, we recognize that no corner of the globe can wall itself off from the threats of the twenty-first century, or from the needs and concerns of fellow nations. The only way forward is through shared and persistent efforts to combat fear and want wherever they exist. That is the challenge of our time. And if we move forward with courage and resolve, I am confident that we will meet this challenge.

Thank you.

I’ve often said that I don’t believe government has the answer to every problem or that it can do all things for all people. We are a nation built on the strength of individual initiative. But there are certain things that we can’t do on our own. There are certain things only a government can do. And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and don’t cause us harm. That is the mission of our Food and Drug Administration and it is a mission shared by our Department of Agriculture, and a variety of other agencies and offices at just about every level of government.

The men and women who inspect our foods and test the safety of our medicines are chemists and physicians, veterinarians and pharmacists. It is because of the work they do each and every day that the United States is one of the safest places in the world to buy groceries at a supermarket or pills at a drugstore. Unlike citizens of so many other countries, Americans can trust that there is a strong system in place to ensure that the medications we give our children will help them get better, not make them sick; and that a family dinner won’t end in a trip to the doctor’s office.

But in recent years, we’ve seen a number of problems with the food making its way to our kitchen tables. In 2006, it was contaminated spinach. In 2008, it was salmonella in peppers and possibly tomatoes. And just this year, bad peanut products led to hundreds of illnesses and cost nine people their lives – a painful reminder of how tragic the consequences can be when food producers act irresponsibly and government is unable to do its job. Worse, these incidents reflect a troubling trend that’s seen the average number of outbreaks from contaminated produce and other foods grow to nearly 350 a year – up from 100 a year in the early 1990s.

Part of the reason is that many of the laws and regulations governing food safety in America have not been updated since they were written in the time of Teddy Roosevelt. It’s also because our system of inspection and enforcement is spread out so widely among so many people that it’s difficult for different parts of our government to share information, work together, and solve problems. And it’s also because the FDA has been underfunded and understaffed in recent years, leaving the agency with the resources to inspect just 7,000 of our 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses each year. That means roughly 95% of them go uninspected.

That is a hazard to public health. It is unacceptable. And it will change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg, whom I am appointing today as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. From her research on infectious disease at the National Institutes of Health to her work on public health at the Department of Health and Human Services to her leadership on biodefense at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Dr. Hamburg brings to this vital position not only a reputation of integrity but a record of achievement in making Americans safer and more secure. Dr. Hamburg was one of the youngest people ever elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine. And her two children have a unique distinction of their own. Their birth certificates feature her name twice – once as their mother, and once as New York City Health Commissioner. In that role, Dr. Hamburg brought a new life to a demoralized agency, leading an internationally-recognized initiative that cut the tuberculosis rate by nearly half, and overseeing food safety in our nation’s largest city.

Joining her as Principal Deputy Commissioner will be Dr. Joshua Sharfstein. As Baltimore’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Sharfstein has been recognized as a national leader for his efforts to protect children from unsafe over-the-counter cough and cold medications. And he’s designed an award-winning program to ensure that Americans with disabilities had access to prescription drugs.

Their critical work – and the critical work of the FDA they lead – will be part of a larger effort taken up by a new Food Safety Working Group I am creating. This Working Group will bring together cabinet secretaries and senior officials to advise me on how we can upgrade our food safety laws for the 21st century; foster coordination throughout government; and ensure that we are not just designing laws that will keep the American people safe, but enforcing them. And I expect this group to report back to me with recommendations as soon as possible.

As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don’t find their way into the food supply. And we are also strengthening our food safety system and modernizing our labs with a billion dollar investment, a portion of which will go toward significantly increasing the number of food inspectors, helping ensure that the FDA has the staff and support they need to protect the food we eat.

In the end, food safety is something I take seriously, not just as your President, but as a parent. When I heard peanut products were being contaminated earlier this year, I immediately thought of my 7-year old daughter, Sasha, who has peanut butter sandwiches for lunch probably three times a week. No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch. Just as no family should have to worry that the medicines they buy will cause them harm. Protecting the safety of our food and drugs is one of the most fundamental responsibilities government has, and, with the outstanding team I am announcing today, it is a responsibility that I intend to uphold in the months and years to come.

Thank you.

Two years ago, we set out on a journey to change the way that Washington works.

We sought a government that served not the interests of powerful lobbyists or the wealthiest few, but the middle-class Americans I met every day in every community along the campaign trail – responsible men and women who are working harder than ever, worrying about their jobs, and struggling to raise their families.  In so many town halls and backyards, they spoke of their hopes for a government that finally confronts the challenges that their families face every day; a government that treats their tax dollars as responsibly as they treat their own hard-earned paychecks.

That is the change I promised as a candidate for president.  It is the change the American people voted for in November.  And it is the change represented by the budget I sent to Congress this week.

During the campaign, I promised a fair and balanced tax code that would cut taxes for 95% of working Americans, roll back the tax breaks for those making over $250,000 a year, and end the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas.  This budget does that.

I promised an economy run on clean, renewable energy that will create new American jobs, new American industries, and free us from the dangerous grip of foreign oil.  This budget puts us on that path, through a market-based cap on carbon pollution that will make renewable energy the profitable kind of energy; through investments in wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient American cars and American trucks.

I promised to bring down the crushing cost of health care – a cost that bankrupts one American every thirty seconds, forces small businesses to close their doors, and saddles our government with more debt.  This budget keeps that promise, with a historic commitment to reform that will lead to lower costs and quality, affordable health care for every American.

I promised an education system that will prepare every American to compete, so Americans can win in a global economy.  This budget will help us meet that goal, with new incentives for teacher performance and pathways for advancement; new tax credits that will make college more affordable for all who want to go; and new support to ensure that those who do go finish their degree.

This budget also reflects the stark reality of what we’ve inherited – a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.  Given this reality, we’ll have to be more vigilant than ever in eliminating the programs we don’t need in order to make room for the investments we do need.  I promised to do this by going through the federal budget page by page, and line by line.  That is a process we have already begun, and I am pleased to say that we’ve already identified two trillion dollars worth of deficit-reductions over the next decade.  We’ve also restored a sense of honesty and transparency to our budget, which is why this one accounts for spending that was hidden or left out under the old rules.

I realize that passing this budget won’t be easy.  Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington.  I know that the insurance industry won’t like the idea that they’ll have to bid competitively to continue offering Medicare coverage, but that’s how we’ll help preserve and protect Medicare and lower health care costs for American families.  I know that banks and big student lenders won’t like the idea that we’re ending their huge taxpayer subsidies, but that’s how we’ll save taxpayers nearly $50 billion and make college more affordable.  I know that oil and gas companies won’t like us ending nearly $30 billion in tax breaks, but that’s how we’ll help fund a renewable energy economy that will create new jobs and new industries.   In other words, I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak.  My message to them is this:

So am I.

The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long, but I don’t.  I work for the American people.  I didn’t come here to do the same thing we’ve been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November.  That is the change this budget starts to make, and that is the change I’ll be fighting for in the weeks ahead – change that will grow our economy, expand our middle-class, and keep the American Dream alive for all those men and women who have believed in this journey from the day it began.

Thanks for listening.

THE PRESIDENT:  Earlier this week, I signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — the most sweeping economic recovery plan in history.  Because of this plan, 3.5 million Americans will now go to work doing the work that America needs done.

I’m grateful to Congress, governors and mayors across the country, and to all of you whose support made this critical step possible.

Because of what we did together, there will now be shovels in the ground, cranes in the air, and workers rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, and repairing our faulty levees and dams.

Because of what we did, companies — large and small — that produce renewable energy can now apply for loan guarantees and tax credits and find ways to grow, instead of laying people off; and families can lower their energy bills by weatherizing their homes.

Because of what we did, our children can now graduate from 21st century schools and millions more can do what was unaffordable just last week — and get their college degree.

Because of what we did, lives will be saved and health care costs will be cut with new computerized medical records.

Because of what we did, there will now be police on the beat, firefighters on the job, and teachers preparing lesson plans who thought they would not be able to continue pursuing their critical missions.  And ensure that all of this is done with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability, I have assigned a team of managers to make sure that precious tax dollars are invested wisely and well.

Because of what we did, 95 percent of all working families will get a tax cut — in keeping with a promise I made on the campaign.  And I’m pleased to announce that this morning, the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks — meaning that by April 1st, a typical family will begin taking home at least $65 more every month.  Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans.

But as important as it was that I was able to sign this plan into law, it is only a first step on the road to economic recovery.  And we can’t fail to complete the journey.  That will require stemming the spread of foreclosures and falling home values, and doing all we can to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes, which is exactly what the housing plan I announced last week will help us do.

It will require stabilizing and repairing our banking system, and getting credit flowing again to families and businesses.  It will require reforming the broken regulatory system that made this crisis possible, and recognizing that it’s only by setting and enforcing 21st century rules of the road that we can build a thriving economy.

And it will require doing all we can to get exploding deficits under control as our economy begins to recover.  That work begins on Monday, when I will convene a fiscal summit of independent experts and unions, advocacy groups and members of Congress, to discuss how we can cut the trillion-dollar deficit that we’ve inherited.  On Tuesday, I will speak to the nation about our urgent national priorities.  And on Thursday, I’ll release a budget that’s sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don’t, and restoring fiscal discipline.

No single piece of this broad economic recovery can, by itself, meet the demands that have been placed on us.  We can’t help people find work or pay their bills unless we unlock credit for families and businesses.  We can’t solve our housing crisis unless we help people find work so that they can make payments on their homes.  We can’t produce shared prosperity without firm rules of the road, and we can’t generate sustained growth without getting our deficits under control.  In short, we cannot successfully address any of our problems without addressing them all.  And that is exactly what the strategy we are pursuing is designed to do.

None of this will be easy.  The road ahead will be long and full of hazards.  But I am confident that we, as a people, have the strength and wisdom to carry out this strategy and overcome this crisis.  And if we do, our economy — and our country — will be better and stronger for it.

Thank you.

Barack H. Obama

WEEKLY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION

February 14, 2009

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 looking to 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.

The following article is republished from http://www.whitehouse.gov on February 9th, 2009.

While some in Washington have obsessed about “process stories” regarding the recovery package, for most of America the economy is not a spectator sport.  That’s why the President went to discuss with working people exactly how the package will affect them and their communities in a town hall today in Elkhart, Indiana.

“You know, we tend to take the measure of the economic crisis we face in numbers and statistics.  But when we say we’ve lost 3.6 million jobs since this recession began….We’re talking about folks who’ve lost their livelihood and don’t know what will take its place,” President Obama said. “Parents who’ve lost their health care and lie awake nights praying the kids don’t get sick.  Families who’ve lost the home that was their corner of the American dream. Young people who put that college acceptance letter back in the envelope because they just can’t afford it.”

The President was introduced by Ed Neufeldt, one of many Elkhart residents laid off recently from the area’s RV plants. At 62 years old, he has two young children and 5 grown children, and he needs to work. But unemployment in the area has more than tripled from 4.7% at the end of 2007 to over 15% at the end of last year.

Questions from the crowd of about 1,700 people ranged from the foreclosure crisis and green energy to the mechanism by which recovery funds will reach communities like Elkhart. Some highlights, then the full transcript below.

Q: With respect to the stimulus bill, are there provisions in there that address green job issues, improvement of environmental issues, and those type of matters?

A: Under this plan, we would double the production of alternative energy — double it from where it is right now….there is money allocated in this plan to develop the new battery technologies that will allow not just cars but potentially RVs as well to move into the next generation of plug-in hybrids….We also have put in money that provide for the weatherization of millions of homes across the country….If we don’t use this crisis as an opportunity to start retooling, then we will never catch up and be able to compete effectively against Japanese automakers, Korean automakers, and we will find ourselves continuing to slide. This should be an opportunity for us to retool.

Q We are truly tired of the economics that we have been getting that has got us into the position that we’re in. That theory has been a trickle down. We need to trickle up. So I would hope in your philosophy about trying to kick-start the economy that the money gets directly to the people who are — have homes that are foreclosed, the people that have lost jobs….So I would hope…that the money gets directly into the hands of the people who are hurting.

A: When it comes to tax cuts, you are exactly right that instead of providing tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, what I’ve been pushing in this plan is to make sure that the tax cuts go to working families. That is not only good for those families, it’s actually good for the economy, because when you give a tax break to working families who are struggling, they will spend it on buying a new coat for the kids, or making sure that they get that car repaired that they use to get to work.

Q: What are you going to do about enticing companies to stay here in the United States once we have them?

A: The single most important factor I think in whether companies are going to continue to locate here in Elkhart and around the country is, what are we doing about education. Because the quality of the work force is probably what most companies are going to pay the most attention to over time…. [W]hat we should be looking for is how do we encourage high-wage, high-value work. And there the key is going to be how well we are training our work force….And over the next few days, as we are having these conversations, we should talk about how we can make sure that we’re investing in education, because that’s what’s going to keep companies investing right here in the United States over the long term.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you so much. Well, let’s — everybody can have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable — we’re going to be here a while. (Applause.)

It is good to be back in Elkhart. (Applause.) And it’s good to be back in Indiana. You know, the last event we had on the campaign was Indiana. And the first time that I’m traveling outside of the White House to talk about the economy is back in Indiana. (Applause.)

And I want to start by thanking Ed for coming here today and sharing his family’s story with all of us. Ed was terrific — give him a big round of applause. (Applause.)

There are a few other special guests that I just want to acknowledge very quickly. First of all, your own senator, my former colleague, a outstanding legislator and public servant, former governor here in Indiana — give it up for Senator Evan Bayh. Where is he? Where’s Evan? There he is. (Applause.)

A guy you may be familiar with, your own member of Congress, Joe Donnelly. (Applause.) We brought a few other members of Congress here to get in on the fun: Representative Baron Hill. (Applause.) Representative Brad Ellsworth. (Applause.) Representative Fred Upton. (Applause.) Representative André Carson. (Applause.) Former Representative Tim Roemer. (Applause.) Former Representative Lee Hamilton. (Applause.) We’ve got Mayor Dick Moore of Elkhart. (Applause.) And we’ve got the new Secretary of Transportation, a former member of Congress from my own home state of Illinois, Ray LaHood. (Applause.)

I don’t know if you guys have been noticing, but we’ve had a little debate in Washington — (laughter) — over the last week or two about the economy. You know, we tend to take the measure of the economic crisis we face in numbers and statistics. But when we say that we’ve lost 3.6 million jobs since this recession began, nearly 600,000 in the past month alone; when we say that this area has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in the United States of America, with an unemployment rate of over 15 percent, when it was 4.7 percent just last year; when we talk about layoffs at companies like Monaco Coach, and Keystone RV, and Pilgrim International — companies that have sustained this community for years — we’re not just talking numbers, we’re talking about Ed. We’re talking about people in the audience here today. People not just in Elkhart, but all across this country. We’re talking about people who have lost their livelihood and don’t know what will take its place.

We’re talking about parents who’ve lost their health care and lie away at night, praying their kids don’t get sick. We’re talking about families who’ve lost the home that was the corner — their foundation for their American Dream. Young people who put that college acceptance letter back in the envelope because they just can’t afford it. That’s what those numbers and statistics mean. That is the true measure of this economic crisis.

Those are the stories I heard when I came to Elkhart six months ago, and those are the stories that I carried with me to the White House. I have not forgotten them. And I promised you back then that if elected — (applause) — I’d do everything I could to help this community recover, and that’s why I came back today, because I intend to keep my promise. (Applause.)

I intend to keep my promise. But you know, the work is going to be hard. I don’t want to lie to people — that’s why we’re having a town hall meeting — because the situation we face could not be more serious. We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression.

Economists from across the spectrum have warned that if we don’t act immediately, millions of more jobs will be lost. The national unemployment rates will approach double digits not just here in Elkhart, all across the country. More people will lose their homes and their health care. And our nation will sink into a crisis that at some point we may be unable to reverse.

So we can’t afford to wait. We can’t wait and see and hope for the best. We can’t posture and bicker and resort to the same failed ideas that got us into this mess in the first place. (Applause.) That was what this election was all about — the American people rejected those ideas because they hadn’t worked. (Applause.) You didn’t send us to Washington because you were hoping for more of the same; you sent us there to change things — (applause) — the expectation that we would act quickly and boldly to carry out change. And that’s exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States of America. (Applause.)

That’s why I put forth a recovery and reinvestment plan that is now before Congress. At its core is a very simple idea: to put Americans back to work doing the work America needs to be done. Ed — Ed said it better than anybody could. He said, look, folks in Elkhart, they want to work. Nobody is looking for a handout. Everybody just wants to be able to get a job that supports a family. And we got the most productive workers on Earth. (Applause.) We’ve got the best workers right here in Elkhart — (applause) — who are willing to put hard time and do whatever it takes to make sure a company succeeds.

But they’ve got to have a chance. The plan that we put forward will save or create 3 to 4 million jobs over the next two years. But not just any jobs — jobs that meet the needs we’ve neglected for far too long, jobs that lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth; jobs fixing our schools; computerizing medical records to save costs and save lives; jobs repairing our roads and our bridges and our levees; jobs investing in renewable energy to help us move towards energy independence. (Applause.)

The plan also calls for immediate tax relief for 95 percent of American workers, so that you who are being pinched, even if you still have a job, with rising costs while your wages and incomes are flat-lined, you’ll actually have a little bit of extra money at the end of the month to buy the necessities for you and your children.

Now, I know that some of you might be thinking, well, that all sounds good, but when are we going to see any of this here in Elkhart? What does all this mean to my family, to my community? And those are exactly the kinds of questions you should be asking your President and your government. And today, I want to provide some answers — and I want to be as specific as I can.

Number one, this plan will provide for extended unemployment insurance, health care and other assistance for workers — (applause) — other assistance for workers and families who have lost their jobs in this recession. So if you’ve lost your job, for example, under existing law you can get COBRA — some of you have heard of COBRA — but the only problem is it’s so expensive, it doesn’t do you any good. (Applause.) So what we’ve said is — what we’ve said is we will help subsidize people so that they can keep — at least keep their health insurance while they’re out there looking for a new job. (Applause.)

This plan will also — and what this means is, from the perspective of unemployment insurance, you will have an additional $100 per month in unemployment benefits that will go to more than 450,000 Indiana workers, extended unemployment benefits for another 89,000 folks who’ve been laid off and can’t find work, and job training assistance to help more than 51,000 people here get back on their feet. (Applause.)

Now, that’s not just our moral — that’s not just our moral responsibility to lend a helping hand to our fellow Americans at a time of emergency; it makes good economic sense. If you don’t have money, you can’t spend it. And if you don’t spend it, our economy will continue to decline.

Now, for that same reason, the plan includes badly needed tax relief for middle class workers and families. (Applause.) Folks all across the country are under siege. We need to give you more of the money you’ve earned so that you can spend it and pay your bills. Under our plan, families — working families will get a thousand dollars, providing relief for nearly 2.5 million workers and their families here in Indiana. The plan also will provide a partially refundable $2,500 per student tax credit to help 76,000 Hoosier families send their kids to college. (Applause.) This will benefit your household budgets in the short run, and it will benefit America in the long run.

But providing tax relief and college assistance, and helping folks who have lost their jobs, that’s not enough. A real recovery plan helps create more jobs and put people back to work. And that’s why between the investments our plan makes, and the tax relief for small business it provides, we’ll create or save nearly 80,000 badly needed jobs for Indiana right here over the next couple of years.

Now, you may have heard some of the critics of our plan say it would create mostly government jobs. That is not true. Ninety percent — more than 90 percent of the jobs created under this recovery act will be in the private sector; more than 90 percent. (Applause.) But it’s not just the jobs that will benefit Indiana and the rest of America. It’s the work people will be doing — rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our dams, our levees; roads like US 31 here in Indiana — (applause) — that Hoosiers can count on — that connects small towns and rural communities to opportunities for economic growth. And I know that a new overpass downtown would make a big difference for businesses and families right here in Elkhart. (Applause.)

We’ll also put people to work rebuilding our schools. (Applause.) This school is a terrific school, but I know there’s work to be done here. We should do it so that all our children can have the world-class classrooms — the labs, the libraries — that they need in order to compete in today’s global economy. (Applause.)

We should be investing in clean alternative sources of energy. (Applause.) We should be investing in the electric grid we need to transport this new energy from coast to coast. So if you build a windmill here in Indiana and it generates energy, that energy can get to Chicago and can get to St. Louis and can get to other places all across the country. (Applause.)

We can help make Indiana an energy-producing state, not just an energy-consuming state. (Applause.) The plan calls for weatherizing homes across Indiana; installing state-of-the-art equipment that help you control your energy costs; building new, high-speed broadband lines; reaching schools and small businesses in rural Indiana so they can connect and compete with their counterparts in any city of any country in the world. (Applause.)

Those — those are the kinds of projects that we’re looking at — that put people to work, that allow us to train people for jobs that pay a living wage, and that end up being a gift that keeps on giving, because not only are we creating jobs now, but we’re creating the infrastructure for the jobs of the future. (Applause.)

Now, let me be clear, I’m not going to tell you that this bill is perfect. It’s coming out of Washington, it’s going through Congress — (laughter) — you know. Look, it’s not perfect, but it is the right size, it is the right scope. Broadly speaking, it has the right priorities to create jobs that will jumpstart our economy and transform this economy for the 21st century. (Applause.)

I can’t tell you with a hundred percent certainty that every single item in this plan will work exactly as we hoped. But what I can tell you is, I can say with complete confidence that endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will only bring deepening disaster. I can tell you that doing nothing is not an option. (Applause.)

So we’ve had a good debate. Now is the time to act. That’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass this bill immediately. Folks here in Elkhart and all across America need help right now. They can’t afford to keep waiting for folks in Washington to get this done.

Even with this plan, the road ahead won’t be easy. This crisis has been a long time in the making. We’re not going to turn it around overnight. Recovery will likely be measured in years, not weeks or months. But we also know that our economy will be stronger for generations to come if we commit ourselves to the work that needs to be done — commit ourselves today to the work that needs to be done.

And being here in Elkhart, I am more confident than ever that we will get where we need to be, because I know people are struggling, but I also know that folks here are good workers and good neighbors — (applause) — who step up, who help each other out, who make sacrifices when times are tough. (Applause.) I know that all folks here are asking for is a chance to work hard and to have that work translate into a decent life for you and your family. (Applause.) So I know you’re going to be doing your part. I think it’s about time that government did its part, too. (Applause.) That’s what this recovery plan is all about. That’s why I hope it passes as soon as possible, so we can start creating jobs and helping families, and turning our economy around. (Applause.)

Thank you, Elkhart. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right, we’re going to take questions. All right, I just want to make sure my mic is working here. Here’s the deal on questions. First of all, we didn’t screen anybody. So there’s some people who like me in the audience, some people who don’t. Some people agree with me, some people who don’t. It doesn’t matter. We want to take questions from everybody.

Here’s the only thing I’ve got to ask, though. I would ask that everybody raise their hand — not right now. (Laughter.) People who had a question, raise their hand. We’re going to try to call on people — I’m going to try to go around the room. We may not get to every single question, so don’t be mad at me. We’ve got a lot of people here. We’ve got about 35 minutes, 40 minutes, so I’m going to try to get as many questions as possible — which means try to keep your question relatively succinct, and I will try to keep my answer relatively succinct. We’ve got young people in the audience who have microphones, so wait until the microphone gets to you. And if you could introduce yourself, that will be helpful. And the last thing I’m going to do is I’m going to go girl, boy, girl, boy, so that nobody gets mad at me. (Laughter and applause.)

All, right. This young lady right here, she’s number one, right here. (Applause.)

Q Thank you. And, President Obama, we welcome you to Elkhart with our whole heart.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Q You are just — we are so grateful that you’ve come here today.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Q My question to you is, sir, when you allocate the money for Elkhart, Indiana, will it come directly into Elkhart? Or where — is it going to have to go around somewhere else?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, what’s your name?

Q My name is Helen Castillo [phonetic].

THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you, Helen. It’s a good question. Look, we’ve got to get the bill passed. But we also have to make sure that the money is well spent, which means we’re doing some things that are unprecedented to make sure that the money gets out quickly, but it gets out wisely.

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. So that’s point number one.

Point number two is we’re actually going to set up something called recovery.gov. This is going to be a special website that we set up that gives you a report on where the money is going in your community, how it’s being spent, how many jobs it’s [sic] being created, so that all of you can be the eyes and ears. And if you see that a project is not working the way it’s supposed to, you’ll be able to get on that website and say, you know, I thought this was supposed to be going to school construction, but I haven’t noticed any changes being made. And that will help us track how this money is being spent.

Now, in terms of how it’s — how it’s being utilized and who it’s going to, it’s probably going to depend on different aspects of the plan. Some of the plan will go to the state government because, for example — well, let me give you an example. Unemployment insurance is run through the state, not run through a city, and so that part of the plan will be going through the state.

There are going to be other projects having to do with transportation, for example, in which we may be working directly with local municipalities and communities as well as the state government to make sure that the project is well planned. And that’s why we’ve got Secretary LaHood here, because he’s going to be working with the local communities.

The same is true on education funding. We may be working directly with the school superintendent, who I know is here, to figure out where are the schools that are in most need of help and where we can right away get some construction going and get some improvements going. So it’ll probably depend on what stream of money we’re talking about, but the key is we’re going to have strong oversight and strong transparency to make sure that this money is well spent.

And listen, I know that there are a lot of folks out there who have been saying, oh, this is pork and this is money that’s going to be wasted and et cetera, et cetera. Understand: This bill does not have a single earmark in it — which is unprecedented for a bill of this size — does not have a single earmark in it. (Applause.)

So we may debate — we can debate, you know, whether you’d rather have this tax cut versus that tax cut, or this project versus that project. Be clear, though, that there aren’t a — there aren’t individual pork projects that members of Congress are putting into this bill. Regardless of what the critics say, there are no earmarks in this bill. That’s part of the change that we’re bringing to Washington, is making sure that this money is well spent to actually create jobs right here in Elkhart.

All right? Okay. (Applause.)

Gentleman out there, all the way at the top. You, that’s right. (Laughter.) But hold on a second. Let’s get a mic to him.

Q Thank you. I also want to just be very thrilled to be in the presence of you because we’ve been looking for a change. We are truly tired of the economics that we have been getting that has got us into the position that we’re in. That theory has been a trickle down. We need to trickle up. (Applause.)

So I would hope in your philosophy about trying to kick-start the economy that the money gets directly to the people who are — have homes that are foreclosed, the people that have lost jobs. To try to give to a bank and give a low interest rate, and the person whose home has been foreclosed on don’t have a job, don’t help anybody. It’s a sale that nobody can take advantage of because you ain’t got no money. (Applause.)

So I would hope and I pray that you would support the people who got you into the office — we, the people, not the fat cat — (laughter) — we, the people — to where that the money gets directly into the hands of the people who are hurting, to where that we don’t have to worry about going to the state, going to the federal government, standing in line somewhere. Send that check to our mailbox. (Laughter and applause.) Amen, amen. So we can take it to the bank and pay that mortgage. Thank you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Let me — can everybody hear me? Hold on a second. Testing, testing. How’s that? All right.

Well, let me respond in a couple of ways. Number one, when it comes to tax cuts, you are exactly right that instead of providing tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, what I’ve been pushing in this plan is to make sure that the tax cuts goes to working families. That is not only good for those families, it’s actually good for the economy, because when you give a tax break to working families who are struggling, they will spend it on buying a new coat for the kids, or making sure that they get that car repaired that they use to get to work.

When you give it to the wealthier families, they just put it away somewhere, and so it doesn’t circulate in the economy. So tax cuts targeted to working families are the most effective means of stimulus that we can provide to the economy.

Now, you’re making another point, though, that has to do with a separate part of what we’re going to need to get this economy moving again, and that has to do with the financial system and the banking system. And I just want to be clear that the Recovery and Reinvestment Act that is before Congress right now is just one leg in the stool of recovery.

The other thing that we’ve got to get done is we’ve got to get the banks stable and lending again. Part of what’s happened in terms of the RV industry, for example — I was talking to Congressman Donnelly about this — is basically people who want to buy an RV can’t get financing right now even if they’ve got good credit. So what we’re going to be trying to do is to set up a whole new mechanism for helping people get consumer credit. We’re going to help small businesses and medium-sized businesses get credit. And instead of just pumping that money directly into Wall Street, we’re going to make sure that a lot of that money is going directly to consumers, and the money that does go into Wall Street is going to come with some strings attached. (Applause.)

You cannot expect taxpayers to bail out banks that have made bad decisions when they are then using that money to give themselves huge bonuses. (Applause.)

So one of the things that we said is, look, we understand that the banking system is fragile right now and even though those folks made bad decisions — could bring down the entire economy, and it affects towns like Elkhart, so we’re going to do something strengthen the banking system. But, you know, you are not going to be able to give out these big bonuses until you’ve paid taxpayers back. You can’t get corporate jets — (applause) — you can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime. (Applause.) There’s got to be some accountability and some responsibility, and that’s something that I intend to impose as President of the United States. (Applause.)

All right. Young lady right here — right here in the striped sweater.

Q Thank you. My question is, you have — my name is Tara. You have come to our county and asked us to trust you, but those that you have appointed to your Cabinet are not trustworthy and can’t handle their own budget and taxes.

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, this is a legitimate — this is a legitimate question.

Q So I’m one of those that thinks you need to have a beer with Sean Hannity. So tell me why, from my side, we can understand –

AUDIENCE: Boo!

THE PRESIDENT: No, that’s okay. That’s okay. No, no, look, I think it was a perfectly legitimate question.

First of all, I appoint — I’ve appointed hundreds of people, all of whom are outstanding Americans who are doing a great job. There are a couple who had problems before they came into my administration in terms of — in terms of their taxes. Look — and I think this is a legitimate criticism that people have made, because you can’t expect one set of folks to not pay their taxes when everybody else is paying theirs. So I think that’s a legitimate concern. (Applause.)

I will tell you that the individuals at issue here, I know them personally, and I think these were honest mistakes. And I made sure they were honest mistakes beforehand. And one of the things I discovered is if you’re not going to appoint anybody whose ever made a mistake in your [sic] life, then you’re not going to have anybody taking your job. So — (applause) –

But having said that, what I did acknowledge — and I said it publicly on just about every TV station — is something that you probably sometimes don’t hear from politicians, which is: I made a mistake. (Applause.) And that, because I don’t want to send the signal that they’re two sets of rules.

Now, understand, though, I think something that should also be mentioned is that we’ve set up an unprecedented set of ethics rules in my White House where we are not — we are not — everybody will acknowledge that we have set up the highest standard ever for lobbyists not working in the administration; people who work in my administration aren’t going to be able to go out the revolving door and start working for some lobbying firm and lobbying the White House. Republicans and Democrats have acknowledged that there’s a very high bar that we’ve set for ourselves. We have not been perfect, but we are changing the culture in Washington and it’s going to take some time.

Now, with respect to Sean Hannity, I didn’t know that he had invited me for a beer. (Laughter.) But I will take that under advisement. (Laughter.) Generally, his opinion of me does not seem to be very high — (laughter) — but I’m always good for a beer, so — (laughter and applause.)

All right. Well, let me — let me get this side of the room and then I’ll come back. I want to make sure I’m not looking too biased on one side here. That gentlemen right up there in the corner there — you, yes.

Q Thank you, President Obama. It’s — like everybody has said, it’s an honor to be here. I’m — my name is Jason Ward [phonetic] and I’m a local attorney here in town, but I’ve seen a lot of the effects that the manufacturing industry has had here. And there’s been a lot of discussion with respect to green jobs and environmental issues –

THE PRESIDENT: Right.

Q — and this area has been one of the areas that’s been mentioned about maybe retooling to take advantage of the green revolution. And I guess the question is, with respect to the stimulus bill, are there provisions in there that address green job issues, improvement of environmental issues, and those type of matters?

THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely. It’s a great question, and let me describe for you just some of the things that we have in there. Under this plan, we would double the production of alternative energy — double it from where it is right now. So that’s point number one. (Applause.)

Point number two — point number two, there is money allocated in this plan to develop the new battery technologies that will allow not just cars but potentially RVs as well to be — to move into the next generation of plug-in hybrids that get much better gas mileage, that will wean ourselves off dependence on Middle Eastern oil, and will improve our environment and lessen the potential effects of greenhouse gases and climate change.

We also have put in money that provide for the weatherization of millions of homes across the country. Now, this is an example of where you get a multiplier effect. If you allocate money to weatherize homes, the homeowner gets the benefit of lower energy bills. You right away put people back to work, many of whom in the construction industry and in the housing industry are out of work right now — they are immediately put to work doing something. You can train young people as apprentices to start getting training at — in home construction through weatherization. And you start reducing energy costs for the nation as a whole. So there are billions of dollars in this plan allocated for moving us towards a new energy future.

Now, I’ll be honest with you, some of the critics of the plan have said that’s pork. I don’t understand their criticism. Their basic argument is, well, that’s — you’re trying to make policy instead of just doing short-term stimulus. Well, my whole attitude is, if we’re going to spend billions of dollars that creates jobs anyway, then why wouldn’t we want to create jobs in things like clean energy that create a better economic future for us over the long term? That’s just — that’s common sense to me. That’s common sense to me. (Applause.)

And that is especially important for the Midwest, because if you think about it, the auto industry, RV industry, transportation industry is so important to us here in the Midwest. If we don’t use this crisis as an opportunity to start retooling, then we will never catch up and be able to compete effectively against Japanese automakers, Korean automakers, and we will find ourselves continuing to slide. This should be an opportunity for us to retool.

And so I am going to make this a big priority over the next few days as we’re trying to reconcile the House and the Senate bill, getting folks in Congress to understand that this is one of the best possible investments that we can make.

Let me give you another example of long-term investments that are in this plan. I’ve been criticized because I suggested that as part of this plan we should improve information technology in the health care system. Now, here’s the reason that I want to do it. Not only will it immediately create jobs in the health care industry, as well as in information technologies — people who are programmers, people who are information systems specialists — but it will also put everybody’s medical records in a computerized form that will reduce medical errors and cut down the cost of health care over the long term.

One of our biggest problems is that health care costs keep on going up even when everything else is going down. You know that in your own lives. The average family premium has doubled over the last eight years, even though your wages and your incomes haven’t doubled.

If we keep on going down that path, health care is going to gobble up everything. So what I’ve said is, look, if we’re going to be spending money anyway creating jobs, why not create jobs getting these medical records set up in a way that drives down health care costs over the long term. Some of my critics have said that’s social policy, that’s not stimulus. Look, doesn’t it make sense, if we’re going to spend this money, to solve some big problems that have been around for decades? (Applause.) That’s what we’re trying to do. That’s what’s in this package. And that’s why I hope Congress supports it. (Applause.)

All right. It’s a young lady’s turn. This young lady right here. Hold on one second. Let’s get a mic to you so everybody can hear you. We got a mic?

Q I’m Jackie Whittaker [phonetic] from South Bend. And I work as a foreclosure intervention counselor. And there’s a bill pending that indicates that they’re trying to get the authority for judges to go in and then they’d change and help mortgages. Do you think that is something that will pass?

THE PRESIDENT: Let me talk to you about the housing foreclosure issue, because this was raised by this gentleman as well. We have to give homeowners some help and some relief.

You’ve got home foreclosures that have gone up astronomically during this recession, during this downturn. It is both a cause and effect of the downturn. If we don’t do anything about stabilizing the housing market, it is going to be much more difficult for us to recover.

So we are going to be unveiling a series of plans to help not only homeowners who are at the brink of foreclosure, but there are a lot of homeowners who are making their mortgage payments every day, but they’ve seen the value of their homes decline so badly that now their mortgage is more than the value of their home — which means that even when interest rates are low, it’s very hard to refinance your home to take advantage of those low rates because a bank will say, well, you actually owe more than the home is worth. So we’re going to be doing a lot of work on this.

Now, one potential provision that has been discussed that I’m supportive of, but is not in this package — it will be on a separate package — is the idea that right now, if you have a second home or a third home or a fourth or a fifth home — (laughter) — and you go bankrupt, then the judge can modify the terms of your mortgage on your second, third, fourth, fifth home. So if you’re worth $100 billion, you bought all these houses, and suddenly you went bankrupt, you would still be able to protect your second, third, fourth, fifth home.

But, if you are like most people, including me, and you got one house — (applause) — keep in mind, the house I’m in, in D.C., I’m just borrowing that, that’s the people’s house. So I’m just — I’m a guest in Washington, in the people’s house. My house is on the south side of Chicago, that I own. (Applause.) But if you just have one house, it turns out that under current law you can’t modify that mortgage if you are in bankruptcy. And if you — if you just can’t make the payments, the judge is not authorized to modify that loan so that let’s say, the banks have to take a little bit less, but you are still making some payments. Now that makes no sense. What that’s doing is, it’s forcing a lot of people into foreclosure who potentially would be better off, and the bank would be better off and the community would be better off, if they’re at least making some payments, but they’re not able to make all the payments necessary. (Applause.)

So this is a piece of legislation — so this is a piece of legislation that I strongly support. We’re going to try to make that part of our housing package so that — remember I said, this recovery package and reinvestment package is just one leg of the stool. We’ve got to deal with the credit crisis. We’ve got to deal with housing. There are a whole bunch of other steps that we’re going to have to take, and this is one of them.

All right. The gentleman right back here in the tie — yes.

Q Thank you, President Obama. I’m Bill Keith [phonetic] from SunRise Solar. I manufacture a solar-powered attic fan right here in Indiana. (Applause.) And believe me, a lot of people encouraged me to go to China years ago to manufacture my products so I could live a little higher on the hog, and I decided to keep my friends and neighbors employed and make it right here. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: That’s right. Excellent.

Q And I wanted you to know that we’ve got people in this row — Eric, Laura, Terry, Denise, Jesse Carbonda [phonetic] up in the balcony, and Gary Freimiller [phonetic] — and these are people who are running green companies right now that are employing American people on our soil and keeping jobs here.

What we need is a little more friendly environment from the utility companies, so if I want to put a solar system on my house I can get more than nine cents on the dollar for the electric I feed back into it. (Applause.) Some legislation like that would be helpful. And what my stance has been is, if the federal government mandates that the utility companies have to produce at least so much renewable energy, then all of our rates are going to go up.

So I’ve been trying to encourage my own state to be more proactive and adopt a renewable energy standard, renewable electric standard on their own. What do you see in the pipeline for companies like mine? Because it’s hard — I don’t get any tax — you know, those of you out there that think that the prior administration or someone gave us some kind of benefits for being a green company here — there are none. I mean, there’s no real incentive for us to do what we’re doing, so we’re doing it out of passion right now. So we appreciate all that you’re saying about renewables.

THE PRESIDENT: Good. Well, let me — three things that we can do, just very specific and we can do them quickly, and then there’s a fourth thing that we can do that will take a little bit more time.

Number one is that we need to pass a renewable energy standard. (Applause.) And what that does is, just as for people who aren’t sort of experts in the field, it’s pretty simple. What it says is — to the various utilities, it says, you need to get 15 percent or 20 percent of your energy from renewable sources. And once you set that benchmark, then what happens is, is that people who are producing renewable energy — solar or wind or hydrothermal — what they’re able to do then is count on a pretty solid market that they’re going to be able to sell their energy to. And that means investors, then, will say, you know what, this is actually a pretty good thing for us to invest in. And over time what that means is, is that more and more people invest in renewable energy, which means that technology gets better, the research and development improves, and you start growing that sector. So a renewable energy standard is very important. That’s point number one.

Point number two is we should be providing tax credits and loan guarantees to renewable energy. There are some in place currently that have — are on the verge of lapsing, and we have to act much more forcefully in terms of making sure that those are in place. That’s the second thing.

The third thing that we should be doing is working with utilities all across America, including here in Indiana, to do what some utilities are already doing in California. And this is a really smart thing. What they do is, the utility is able to make money not just on how much energy it sells, but it’s also able to make money on how much energy its customers save.

So you can structure how they charge your electricity bill so that if you started installing a solar panel, that you would actually, as you point out, be able to sell some of that energy back when you’re not using it. You get to put some money in your pocket, and the utilities are rewarded for encouraging you to do that. Right now they don’t have enough incentive to do it because they’re making money the more energy you use, whereas what we want to do is make — give them incentives so that they are constantly telling you how you can save energy.

The fourth thing — and this is the thing that’s going to take a little bit longer — is we’ve got to improve basic science, research and development. When it comes to solar, when it comes to wind, the price has gone down, but generally speaking it’s still a little more expensive than fossil fuels: coal, natural gas, and so forth. So we’ve got to improve the technology, and that’s why I want to make sure that we’re investing some money every year in the development of new energy technologies that will drive those costs down over the long term.

The country that figures out how to make cheaper energy that’s also clean, that country is going to win the economic competition of the future. (Applause.) And I want that to be the United States of America. That’s one of my commitments as President of the United States. (Applause.)

All right, this part of the room has been kind of neglected here. Let’s get that young lady right there. Yes.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. My name is Erin Mendoza [phonetic]. And I kind of had a question that went along with the gentleman over there. What are you going to do about enticing companies to stay here in the United States once we have them? A lot of local companies have gone overseas since I was born — sorry. And the economy here in Elkhart was at a high, and it is going down because companies are enticed to leave. So like the gentleman said, they can live higher on the hog.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, I believe that the United States has the most productive workers. We’ve got the best universities and colleges. We’ve got the most dynamic, risk-taking economy and innovative economy of any in the world. So we can compete against anybody.

But we’ve got some problems both in terms of our failure to invest in what’s going to keep us competitive; we under-invest when it comes to energy — we just talked about. Our health care system is broken, and that’s a huge cost — a lot of employers who want to stay here find it very difficult to deal with the rising cost of health care for their employees. So fixing health care will actually make us more competitive.

We’ve got a tax code that is too often skewed to encourage companies to move overseas. We still have laws on the books that give tax breaks to companies that are shipping jobs overseas. And I think it’s important for us to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in Elkhart, and right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)

Now, having said all that, the single most important factor I think in whether companies are going to continue to locate here in Elkhart and around the country is, what are we doing about education. (Applause.) Because the quality of the work force is probably what most companies are going to pay the most attention to over time. There are going to be some companies that just ship jobs overseas, because it’s low — it’s low value-added work. And they don’t need skilled labor. And if you don’t need skilled labor to make certain things, then you’re just going to find the cheapest place. And we’re never going to be able to compete against a country like Bangladesh when it comes to low-wage work.

But what we should be looking for is how do we encourage high-wage, high-value work. (Applause.) And there the key is going to be how well we are training our work force. That’s why in this recovery and reinvestment package, we put billions of dollars not only to make sure that school districts who are getting hammered are able to keep their teachers, but also we have money in the package to make sure that we are retraining our teachers around math and science, so that they are able to provide our young people what they need to compete in this new global economy, (applause); we have money to make — create new labs, so that we have got science labs and the latest Internet connections into our schools so that they are part of this modern economy; we have money to revamp our community colleges, which are a tremendous bridge for people who maybe need more training to get these new jobs of the future.

Now, I’ll be honest with you, the Senate version cut a lot of these education dollars. I would like to see some of it restored. (Applause.) And over the next few days, as we are having these conversations, we should talk about how we can make sure that we’re investing in education, because that’s what’s going to keep companies investing right here in the United States over the long term. All right?

Now, there’s a young man right in front of you here who’s — yes, you. (Laughter.) In fact, I just received a note that this is the last question. Oh, don’t be mad at me. (Laughter.) I would love to stay here for a long time, but I’ve got to go back to Washington and convince everybody to get moving on this package. (Applause.)

Q What are you going to do to help our schools?

THE PRESIDENT: And this is a good place to end, with our future here. What’s your name?

Q My name is James.

THE PRESIDENT: James, how old are you?

Q I’m nine years old.

THE PRESIDENT: Okay, fantastic. What’s your question?

Q What are you going to do to help our schools?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you know, I just started talking about that. (Laughter.) So, James, as I said, I think that we’ve got to rebuild our schools to make sure that they’re state of the art. We also have to make sure that we are training new teachers and retraining some of the existing teachers so that they’ve got the best possible skills.

We also are going to have to reform how we do business in some of the schools. I think it’s very important for us to have high standards. I think we’ve got to do a better job, though, of assessing performance in schools. No Child Left Behind needs to be reworked in a more effective way. (Applause.)

But the last thing that we need in schools — do in schools has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with parents. (Applause.) Because we can put as much money as we want into schools — if parents don’t have an attitude that says, I’m going to make sure my child does my homework; that I’m meeting with the teacher to find out what’s going on; if all of us aren’t instilling a sense of excellence in our kids — then they’re not going to be able to compete. And that means young people like you, you’re going to have to — you’re going to have to work a little harder. (Laughter and applause.)

Yes. Thank you, James.

All right, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)

END 1:07 P.M. EST

Yesterday began with some devastating news with regard to our economic crisis.  But I’m pleased to say it ended on a more positive note.

In the morning, we received yet another round of alarming employment figures – the worst in more than 30 years.  Another 600,000 jobs were lost in January.  We’ve now lost more than 3.6 million jobs since this recession began.

But by the evening, Democrats and Republicans came together in the Senate and responded appropriately to the urgency this moment demands.

In the midst of our greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the American people were hoping that Congress would begin to confront the great challenges we face.  That was, after all, what last November’s election was all about.

Legislation of such magnitude deserves the scrutiny that it’s received over the last month, and it will receive more in the days to come.  But we can’t afford to make perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary.  The scale and scope of this plan is right.  And the time for action is now.

Because if we don’t move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe.  Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care.  Millions more will have to put their dreams on hold.

Let’s be clear:  We can’t expect relief from the tired old theories that, in eight short years, doubled the national debt, threw our economy into a tailspin, and led us into this mess in the first place.  We can’t rely on a losing formula that offers only tax cuts as the answer to all our problems while ignoring our fundamental economic challenges – the crushing cost of health care or the inadequate state of so many schools; our addiction to foreign oil or our crumbling roads, bridges, and levees.

The American people know that our challenges are great.  They don’t expect Democratic solutions or Republican solutions – they expect American solutions.

From the beginning, this recovery plan has had at its core a simple idea:  Let’s put Americans to work doing the work America needs done.  It will save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, all across the country – 16,000 in Maine, nearly 80,000 in Indiana – almost all of them in the private sector, and all of them jobs that help us recover today, and prosper tomorrow.

Jobs that upgrade classrooms and laboratories in 10,000 schools nationwide – at least 485 in Florida alone – and train an army of teachers in math and science.

Jobs that modernize our health care system, not only saving us billions of dollars, but countless lives.

Jobs that construct a smart electric grid, connect every corner of the country to the information superhighway, double our capacity to generate renewable energy, and grow the economy of tomorrow.

Jobs that rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and levees and dams, so that the tragedies of New Orleans and Minneapolis never happen again.

It includes immediate tax relief for our struggling middle class in places like Ohio, where 4.5 million workers will receive a tax cut of up to $1,000.  It protects health insurance and provides unemployment insurance for those who’ve lost their jobs.  And it helps our states and communities avoid painful tax hikes or layoffs for our teachers, nurses, and first responders.

That’s what is at stake with this plan:  putting Americans back to work, creating transformative economic change, and making a down payment on the American Dream that serves our children and our children’s children for generations to come.

Americans across this country are struggling, and they are watching to see if we’re equal to the task before us.  Let’s show them that we are.  And let’s do whatever it takes to keep the promise of America alive in our time.

Thank you.

This morning I’d like to talk about some good news and some bad news as we confront our economic crisis.

The bad news is well known to Americans across our country as we continue to struggle through unprecedented economic turmoil. Yesterday we learned that our economy shrank by nearly 4 percent from October through December. That decline was the largest in over a quarter century, and it underscores the seriousness of the economic crisis that my administration found when we took office.

Already the slowdown has cost us tens of thousands of jobs in January alone. And the picture is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Make no mistake, these are not just numbers. Behind every statistic there’s a story. Many Americans have seen their lives turned upside down. Families have been forced to make painful choices. Parents are struggling to pay the bills. Patients can’t afford care. Students can’t keep pace with tuition. And workers don’t know whether their retirement will be dignified and secure.

The good news is that we are moving forward with a sense of urgency equal to the challenge. This week the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which will save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next few years. It puts a tax cut into the pockets of working families, and places a down payment on America’s future by investing in energy independence and education, affordable health care, and American infrastructure.

Now this recovery plan moves to the Senate. I will continue working with both parties so that the strongest possible bill gets to my desk. With the stakes so high we simply cannot afford the same old gridlock and partisan posturing in Washington. It’s time to move in a new direction.

Americans know that our economic recovery will take years — not months. But they will have little patience if we allow politics to get in the way of action, and our economy continues to slide. That’s why I am calling on the Senate to pass this plan, so that we can put people back to work and begin the long, hard work of lifting our economy out of this crisis. No one bill, no matter how comprehensive, can cure what ails our economy. So just as we jumpstart job creation, we must also ensure that markets are stable, credit is flowing, and families can stay in their homes.

Last year Congress passed a plan to rescue the financial system. While the package helped avoid a financial collapse, many are frustrated by the results — and rightfully so. Too often taxpayer dollars have been spent without transparency or accountability. Banks have been extended a hand, but homeowners, students, and small businesses that need loans have been left to fend on their own.

And adding to this outrage, we learned this week that even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008. While I’m committed to doing what it takes to maintain the flow of credit, the American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed. The road to recovery demands that we all act responsibly, from Main Street to Washington to Wall Street.

Soon my Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, will announce a new strategy for reviving our financial system that gets credit flowing to businesses and families. We’ll help lower mortgage costs and extend loans to small businesses so they can create jobs. We’ll ensure that CEOs are not draining funds that should be advancing our recovery. And we will insist on unprecedented transparency, rigorous oversight, and clear accountability — so taxpayers know how their money is being spent and whether it is achieving results.

Rarely in history has our country faced economic problems as devastating as this crisis. But the strength of the American people compels us to come together. The road ahead will be long, but I promise you that every day that I go to work in the Oval Office I carry with me your stories, and my administration is dedicated to alleviating your struggles and advancing your dreams. You are calling for action. Now is the time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities.

Weekly Address

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

We begin this year and this Administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action. Just this week, we saw more people file for unemployment than at any time in the last twenty-six years, and experts agree that if nothing is done, the unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future.

In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.

That is why I have proposed an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan to immediately jumpstart job creation as well as long-term economic growth. I am pleased to say that both parties in Congress are already hard at work on this plan, and I hope to sign it into law in less than a month.

It’s a plan that will save or create three to four million jobs over the next few years, and one that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment – the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there’s so much work to be done. That’s why this is not just a short-term program to boost employment. It’s one that will invest in our most important priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century.

Today I’d like to talk specifically about the progress we expect to make in each of these areas.

To accelerate the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy like wind, solar, and biofuels over the next three years. We’ll begin to build a new electricity grid that lay down more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines to convey this new energy from coast to coast. We’ll save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75% of federal buildings more energy efficient, and save the average working family $350 on their energy bills by weatherizing 2.5 million homes.

To lower health care cost, cut medical errors, and improve care, we’ll computerize the nation’s health record in five years, saving billions of dollars in health care costs and countless lives. And we’ll protect health insurance for more than 8 million Americans who are in danger of losing their coverage during this economic downturn.

To ensure our children can compete and succeed in this new economy, we’ll renovate and modernize 10,000 schools, building state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries, and labs to improve learning for over five million students. We’ll invest more in Pell Grants to make college affordable for seven million more students, provide a $2,500 college tax credit to four million students, and triple the number of fellowships in science to help spur the next generation of innovation.

Finally, we will rebuild and retrofit America to meet the demands of the 21st century. That means repairing and modernizing thousands of miles of America’s roadways and providing new mass transit options for millions of Americans. It means protecting America by securing 90 major ports and creating a better communications network for local law enforcement and public safety officials in the event of an emergency. And it means expanding broadband access to millions of Americans, so business can compete on a level-playing field, wherever they’re located.

I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan. I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won’t just throw money at our problems – we’ll invest in what works. Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible. We’ll launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov.

No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time. But if we act now and act boldly; if we start rewarding hard work and responsibility once more; if we act as citizens and not partisans and begin again the work of remaking America, then I have faith that we will emerge from this trying time even stronger and more prosperous than we were before. Thanks for listening.