Recovery Act Delivered $43m in Tax Relief to Working Families

In his Weekly Address yesterday, President Obama discussed the gains the Recovery Act has made during his short term in office so far. Cautioning that the recession is still far from over, President Obama sought to remind the nation that the Recovery Act has helped end the economic free fall, ease the rate of monthly job losses from 700,000 a month, extend unemployment and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs, and deliver $43 billion in tax relief to working families.

In an effort to address loud from Republican party leaders regarding the effect the stimulus plan has had to date, President Obama advised that the Recovery Act was not designed to work over night, but over a period of two years.

“The Recovery Act has allowed small businesses and clean energy companies to hire new workers or scrap their plans for eliminating current jobs,” President Obama said during his Address. “And it’s led to new jobs building roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, thousands of which are only beginning now. In the months to come, thousands more projects will begin, leading to additional jobs.”

President Obama outlined some of the specific ways in which his clean energy directive has help States and their unemployed cope with joblessness. “Through the clean energy investments we’ve made in the Recovery Act, we’re already seeing start-ups and small businesses make plans to create thousands of new jobs,” he said. “ In California, 3000 people will be employed to build a new solar plant. In Michigan, investment in wind turbines and wind technology is expected to create over 2,600 jobs. And a few weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed historic legislation that would finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy, leading to whole new industries and jobs that can’t be outsourced.”

President Obama’s remarks follow government data showing the unemployment rate soared to 9.5 percent in June, the highest level since 1983. The rates are greater than the 8 percent peak predicted by the Administration’s analysts when the White House initially sought to pass the package.

President Obama cautioned that unemployment likely will top 10 percent in the coming months. “We must let [the stimulus plan] work the way it’s supposed to, with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity,” he said in his Address.

President Obama’s Weekly Address is featured below in full:

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