Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.) claimed Tuesday that during the numerous town hall meetings held throughout the August recess, the focus was not just on health care reform. The top question being asked was: “Where are the jobs?”

Camp noted during a pen and pad session with reporters that only three counties in his district do not have a double digit unemployment rate, with one county nearing 16%.

The Congressmen touched upon health care reform, both reiterating their opposition to the public option.

“The American people don’t want another health care speech. They want another health care plan,” said Pence.

Camp added, “The public option is not the only concern,” but is “the most offensive part of the bill, because it will lead to many losing health insurance they already have.”

When asked how will President Obama’s joint address to Congress Wednesday will be received, Pence responded “The Republicans will welcome the President back into the Congress respectfully.”

Christina Romer, Council of Economic Advisers Chair, describes the Economic Recovery Act as a collaborative effort by the Obama administration and Congress to create a bold and well-conceived plan. She said the President wanted a package that “was large and got good employment bang for the fiscal buck.” (0:36)

 

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Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, speaks about the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “In the past few months, some have tried to portray fiscal stimulus as an exotic tool with a questionable pedigree,” says Romer. “To use a medical analogy, fiscal stimulus is a well-tested antibiotic, not some new-fangled gene therapy.”
(0:20)

 

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Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack discusses how the USDA has provided resources through it’s nutritional assistance program. 33 percent of Americans are receiving benefits, which equals roughly 80 more dollars a month for families to spend at the grocery store which, in turn, creates 800 million a month in direct stimulus. (0:25)

 

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Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar says it will take time for America’s economy to recover, but adds that the country has come a long way since President Obama took office in January. (0:24)

 

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By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama
Photo by Michael Ruhl

Today President Barack Obama announced a new effort to stimulate tomorrow’s economy by reviving higher education through expanding Pell Grants and removing barriers to success. The public face for his new initiative is to be Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice-President Joe Biden and Community College Professor.

Obama’s plan, detailed at opportunity.gov, would help the unemployed go back to school to build new skill sets, with the goal of helping them gain future employment through specialized technical training.

“The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach to unemployment in this country, so that it’s no longer just a time to look for a new job, but is also a time to prepare yourself for a better job,” Obama said. “Our unemployment system should be not just a safety net, but a stepping stone to a new future.”

Among the barriers to success that the President wants to break down are state programs in which a worker might lose temporary financial support if they were to enroll in an education program. Obama said that in some places a worker may be unemployed, but may not qualify for federal assistance to get an education because of the salary they had a year ago but no longer make. The President said that he is committed to working with states to change these laws.

The President said that knowledge is the most valuable skill that one can sell. He encouraged all Americans to aim for getting at least 1 year of higher education, whether it is a community college, a four year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship.

“By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said optimistically.

This announcement came on the same day as the release of April’s unemployment statistics, which saw the loss of more than half a million jobs. The unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in March and 8.1 percent in February. April’s numbers have already surpassed both the White House’s and the Federal Reserve’s projections for all of 2009, which were 8.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

Acknowledging that unemployment is as its highest rate in 25 years, the President urged patience, reminding us that the economic problems didn’t happen overnight, and couldn’t be fixed immediately.

“We’re still in the midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking,” Obama said. He continued, “We should expect further job losses in the months to come.”

Obama said that the Economic Stimulus Package is yielding real results, manifest in higher consumer spending and home sales, and an increase in construction spending. He praised the Recovery Act, and said, “Because of this plan, cops are still on the beat and teachers are still in the classroom; shovels are breaking ground and cranes dot the sky; and new life has been breathed into private companies.”

Fixing the economy and reforming education are two goals Obama has set for his administration. He said that in the weeks to come he would start working towards more education initiatives.

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News

Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, says that the investment in upgrading the nation’s power grid is a core part of the economic stimulus plan.

 

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Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) says that the stimulus bill is misguided and is a “blown opportunity” to have a bipartisan bill that would improve the economy. Instead, he says, the bill creates “more government than jobs.” He says that “Americans want their Congress and this new administration to be smart and work together,” and they have done neither. (1:02)

 

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich criticizes President Barack Obama’s approach to the economic stimulus bill. He specifically says that “governing is not campaigning”, and that Obama may be approaching the bill too hastily, because it’s a bill he will have to live with for the rest of his presidency.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

 

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Greenpeace research on the economic stimulus plan as proposed by President Obama revealed promising results for the environment and economy. In a press conference today, Steven Biel, Greenpeace’s global warming campaign director, stated, “We strongly support the legislation and we urge congress to pass it.”

Kurt Davies, Greenpeace research director, explained how the energy and transport portions of this legislation are projected to fight global warming. “Taken together, they will cut at least 61 million tons of CO2 every year. That’s the equivalent of taking 13 million cars off the road and equal to the electricity from about 7.9 million American homes, about 8 times the size of Chicago.”

Furthermore, Greenpeace focused on how spending money on clean energy will create jobs. Research from the University of Massachusetts has found that investments in transit will create four times the amount of jobs when compared to investments in oil. Investments in efficiency are projected to produce at least twice as many jobs as investments in coal.

Beil concluded, “The job creating potential and environmental benefits of clean energy is virtually limitless, we would urge congress, if anything, to put additional investments into these programs.”