20090214 - Armand Tanzarian

20090214 - Armand Tanzarian
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 lookingto 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