Obama Economic Advisor Christina Romer believes that the Recovery Act accounts for “only” 10 percent of the cumulative projected deficit over the next 10 years. Romer says she came to that figure through estimates from the Congressional Budget Office on the costs of the recovery act. (0:14)
Director of the Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes says that after the two year period of the Recovery Act, individual states should be able to support the additional education jobs that have been created. She says this is because the act was created with the presumption that the U.S. economy would be substantially better by the end of the two years. (0:38)
Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, says that the U.S. is engaged in the most “transparent and accountable” treatment of a government program that the nation has ever seen. He bases this assertion on the progress the Recovery Act has made in saving and creating nearly 250,000 education jobs. (0:26)
By Meagan Wiseley, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
-Recovery Act
Robert Gibbs introduced Jared Bernstein and Melody Barnes to discuss the report released this morning on education-based jobs saved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Bernstein, the Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, said that preliminary recipient data that is coming in to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shows 250,000 education jobs saved or created. These jobs are a subset of the 1 million jobs saved or created thus far through the act, which leaves the Economic Council on track to accomplish the stated goal of saving or creating 3.5 million jobs by later next year.
Bernstein added that the data reflects direct jobs, or jobs that are directly created and funded through spending in the Recovery Act. The Council of Economic Advisers has estimated that the Act has saved about 1 million jobs so far, and this estimate includes direct and indirect jobs.
Bernstein said this is clearly the most transparent and accountable treatment of a government program that has ever been seen before.
Barnes, the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, said the Recovery Act has made schools able to avert massive layoffs and also created jobs for educators in the pre-kindergarten, K-12 and higher education fields.
Barnes pointed out that preventing layoffs averted class size expansion, which has been a concern in the educational context.
Additionally, Barnes said reforms have been put in place to increase standards and assessments, teacher effectiveness and student progress tracking. An extended school day and school year for struggling schools has also been implemented.
When asked how the revenues to keep the new jobs in place when the federal dollars from the Recovery Act money are gone, Barnes said the administrations was very cognizant of such a scenario when developing the Recovery Act and that it was created in the context of the economy improving. Thus, states would be able to support these jobs and increases once the economy strengthens.
-Afghanistan
On the possibility of a runoff election in Afghanistan, Gibbs said that, in his assessment, General McChrystal knew the election would be taken into account. Gibbs said a sizable American force in Afghanistan must be met with a credible partner, and that, without a credible partner, no one involved can make a difference. Gibbs said he is supportive of Deputy Chairman of NATO, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry’s plan to work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on this matter.
Gibbs refused to comment on hypothetical situations regarding a future election, but did say the administration is encouraging processes by the Afghan people to choose a candidate that is legitimate.
-Health Care Reform
On Heath Care reform, Gibbs said the administration is working to ensure choice and competition in the insurance market. He said the President has been clear on his preference for a public option to be in the final bill.
-Sudan
On Sudan, Gibbs said a comprehensive policy is needed to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Gibbs said there is pressure being put on the Sudanese government, and if steps are taken to address components of this issue by the government, there will be incentives.
-Iran
On Iran, Gibbs said that Iran has an opportunity and a responsibility to demonstrate to the world their purpose for a nuclear program. He said the U.S. obligation is to get a sizable amount of low enriched uranium out of Iran in order to make the world more secure.
-Economy
On the financial sector, and Godlman Sachs/JP Morgan executive bonuses, Gibbs said the administration does not want to be in the business of executive compensation. He said last September that the American people went through great lengths to make sure the financial system didn’t collapse. He said the banks are equally as responsible to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that he would support the recent announcement by the White House to provide senior citizens with a check for $250 if the move was payed for with Recovery Act funds.
“The stimulus bill is not working,” said Boehner during a press briefing. “If we’re going provide this benefit to our seniors, why don’t we take it from stimulus funds that clearly aren’t getting the job done?” (0:14)
Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that he would support the recent announcement by the White House to provide senior citizens with a check for $250 if the move was payed for with Recovery Act funds.
“The stimulus bill is not working,” said Boehner during a press briefing. “If we’re going provide this benefit to our seniors, why don’t we take it from stimulus funds that clearly aren’t getting the job done?”
The White House suggested the $250 early Wednesday to counter the lack of a cost of living increase in funds received by Social Security recipients.
Boehner was joined Thursday by Senate Minoirty Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who disparaged the direction the health care debate has taken.
McConnell called upon his Democratic colleagues to slow down the health care reform process, pointing to the length of time it took the Senate to tackle other crucial issues.
“Some would argue that [health care reform] is a bigger issue than No Child Left Behind. We spent seven weeks on that,” McConnell said. “Some would argue that this is a bigger issue than Energy, we spent eight weeks on that.”
The Coalition For Accountable Recovery say that they will continue to urge the Office of Management and Budget, the recovery board, and Congress to improve the data and the website for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. (0:32)
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Friday that an additional $33 million in Recovery Act funds will be allocated toward expanding the number of health care professionals in the U.S.
“65 million Americans currently can’t see a primary care provider today due to a shortage in their home community,” Sebelius said during a conference call with reporters. “We can’t wait for Congress to act to start filling the critical need that we have in the health care workforce.” (0:21)
By Justin Duckham-Talk Radio News Service
A high-ranking Treasury Department official says that the stimulus plan is not responsible for the August rise in unemployment and may in fact have mitigated it. Friday in a briefing with reporters, Alan Krueger, Assistant Treasury Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist, said that there are signs that the economy is improving, but that employers are not hiring because of a lack of confidence. In August, the number of unemployed persons increased by 466,000 to 14.9 million and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percent to 9.7 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment rose to 9.7 percent, or 216,000 Americans without jobs.
“Without the steps (the Obama administration has) already taken, the pain would be much worse,” Krueger said, alluding to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a two-year program which will provide $787 billion to jump-start local and state economies. “The typical pattern is that we see the job market recover more slowly. From employers’ perspectives, they want to be more confident that they are going to see an increase in demand before they hire.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.1 percent), whites (8.9 percent), and Hispanics (13.0 percent) rose in August. The jobless rates for adult women (7.6 percent), teenagers (25.5 percent), and blacks (15.1 percent) were little changed over the
month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 7.5 percent.”
Since December, 2007, employment has fallen by 6.9 million. In August, construction employment declined by 65,000, in line with the trend since May. Monthly losses had averaged 117,000 over the six months ending in April. Employment in the construction industry has contracted by 1.4 million since the onset of the recession. Starting in early 2009, the larger share of monthly job losses shifted from the residential to the nonresidential and heavy construction components. In mining, employment declined by 9,000 over the month.
In August, manufacturing employment continued to trend downward, with a decline of 63,000. The pace of job loss has slowed throughout manufacturing in recent months. Motor vehicles and parts lost 15,000 jobs in August, partly offsetting a 31,000 employment increase in July.
Employment in the retail trade industry was little changed in August. Employment also was little changed in professional and business services over the month. From May through August, monthly employment declines in the sector averaged 46,000, compared with 138,000 per month from November through April. Job loss in its temporary help
services component has slowed markedly over the last 4 months.
Employment in health care continued to rise in August (28,000), with gains in ambulatory care and in nursing and residential care. Employment in hospitals was little changed in August; job growth in the industry slowed in early 2009 and employment has been flat since May. Health care has added 544,000 jobs since the start of the recession.
September employment figures will be released on Friday, October 2.
U.S. economic recovery should be more export-oriented, environmentally oriented, bio and software-engineering oriented, and middle-class oriented, said Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, Friday. (0:28)
