U.S. President Barack Obama(C) signs the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act Bill next to U.S. Vice President Joseph
Biden(L) at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science February 17, 2009. Obama signed a $787 billion
economic stimulus bill into law on Tuesday as global markets plunged
on fears that the recession would deepen despite government action
in many countries. (Xinhua/Reuters photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack
Obama on Tuesday signed a 787-billion-dollar economic stimulus bill into law in
Denver, Colorado, calling it the first step to pave the way to long-term growth.
The sweeping economic rescue package, the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is designed to jolt the ailing U.S. economy by
providing government spending and tax cuts for both individuals and businesses.
"I don't want to pretend that today marks the end of
our economic problems nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn
the economy around," Obama said before signing the bill.
"But today does mark the beginning of the end -- the
beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the
wake of layoffs.
"The beginning of what we need to do to provide
relief for families worried they won't be able to pay next month's bills.
"The beginning of the first steps to set our economy on a
firmer foundation, paving the way to long-term growth and prosperity," the president said.
U.S. President Barack Obama(R) signs the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act Bill next to U.S. Vice President Joseph
Biden(L) at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science February 17, 2009. Obama signed a $787 billion
economic stimulus bill into law on Tuesday as global markets plunged
on fears that the recession would deepen despite government action
in many countries. (Xinhua/Reuters photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Obama signed the bill at the Denver Museum of Nature
& Science. He will then take a tour of the museum's installation of solar
panels, according to a White House press release.
The president is underscoring investments the
spending plan will make in the "green" energy-related jobs by signing the bill
in Colorado, a state its governor Bill Ritter described on Tuesday as "the home
of new energy economy," news reports say.
At the same time, the White House is launching a
website at www.recovery.gov, which is supposed to help people find out how
federal dollars are being spent, the pace of scheduled construction projects and
whether any federal dollars are being wasted.
Since early last week, Obama has turned to
appearances throughout the country to sell his economic plans, hoping to sustain
support and foster hope among Americans who are giving him high marks in opinion
polls.
The public backing for the president's economic plan
is in contrast to the partisan atmosphere in Congress, where the stimulus bill
was passed last week on votes split mostly along party lines.
Republicans were nearly unanimous in opposing the
stimulus bill, arguing that the bill is too wasteful.
Aimed at saving or creating 3.5 million jobs over the
next two years and ending the worst U.S. economic crisis since the 1930s, the
bill will pump money into highway, bridge and other infrastructure projects,
health care, renewable energy development and conservation.
It also includes a 400-dollar tax break for most
individual workers and 800 dollars for couples, including those who do not earn
enough to pay income taxes.
Meanwhile, it will provide aid to states so they can
head off deep cuts and layoffs and will provide financial incentives for people
to start buying again.
In addition, it will increase unemployment benefits
and food stamps, and subsidies for health insurance to help poor people and
laid-off workers.
Despite the massive spending plans, economists are
warning that it takes time for the economy to recover. Obama also emphasizes
that the bill will not produce a rapid return to economic health.
So, part of Obama's message as he has traveled across
the country is designed to lower expectations, according to local media reports.
As another part of the government's economic recovery
effort, Obama is scheduled to outline his plan to help struggling homeowners in
a speech on Wednesday in Arizona, one of the states hardest hit by home
foreclosures that are at the center of the nation's economic woes.
Also, the government is not ruling out a second
economic stimulus plan, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard
Air Force One en route to Denver. But there are no plans currently in the works
for one, he stressed.
NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street dived
on Tuesday as investors were concerned that the U.S. economic stimulus package
would not be enough to revive the economy.
President Barack Obama signed the
787-billion-U.S.-dollar stimulus package into law on Tuesday afternoon. But
investors' enthusiasm has changed into uneasy speculation and the market is
waiting to see the real effect of the plans. Full story
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The White House
on Tuesday released state-by-state details on the local impact of the
787-billion-dollar economic stimulus bill, which is designed to pull the United
States out of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
The figures released by the White House included detailed estimates of how
many jobs the sweeping stimulus package would create in each state, and in each
congressional district as well. Full story
