Barack Obama

“ Instead I'm here to enlist your help, because we have a once in a generation chance to act boldly and turn adversity into opportunity, and use this crisis as a chance to transform our economy for the 21st century.
That's the driving purpose of the Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that I've put before Congress -- it's a plan that will ignite spending by businesses and consumers, make the investments necessary for lasting economic growth and prosperity, and save or create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years. Ninety percent of those jobs are in the private sector. ”

“ The challenges we face today we have not seen in a very long time. Each of you and every American sees them in very specific ways. We've lost 3.6 million jobs since this recession began, nearly 600,000 just last month. Many of your businesses are under tremendous pressure, with revenues falling and credit drying up. You're feeling directly or indirectly the reverberations of a financial crisis which has upended the economy. ”

“ And so even as our President was leading unprecedented public interventions into the private sector, he did so in concert with private sector's leaders. Even as government built new regulatory structures and weaved a social safety net, these efforts were designed not to confine private industry, but to allow it once again to succeed while ensuring that success was broadly shared. ”

“ Every President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has sought the advice of the Business Council. Every President since Lyndon Johnson has sought your audience. And while this is a partnership that is important during periods of relative peace and prosperity, it is a essential partnership during tough economic times. ”

“ Now, passing this plan is a critical step, but as important as it is, it's only the beginning of what I think all of you understand is going to be a long and difficult process of turning our economy around. To truly address this crisis, we will also need to address the crisis in our financial sector to get credit flowing again to families and businesses. And we need to confront the crisis in the housing sector that's been one of the sources of our economic challenges. ”

“ But that's a good thing, from my perspective. Diverse viewpoints are the lifeblood of a democracy, and debating these viewpoints is how we learn from each other's perspective and refine our approaches. ”

“ And the goal at the heart of this plan is to create jobs -- not just any jobs, but jobs doing the work America needs done: repairing our infrastructure, modernizing our schools and our hospitals, promoting the clean, alternative energy sources that will help us finally declare our independence from foreign oil. ”

“ We'll lay down broadband Internet lines to connect rural schools and small businesses, so they can compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world. And we will rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, and repair our dangerously deficient dams and levees so we don't face another Katrina. ”

“ In addition to saving and creating jobs, we'll also ensure that folks who've lost jobs through no fault of their own can receive greater unemployment benefits and continue their health care coverage. It'll provide badly needed middle-class tax relief, putting money in the pockets of workers and their families at a time when many of them are experiencing greater distress. It'll also provide sensible tax relief to businesses that are trying to make payroll and create jobs. ”

“ These executives, hailing from General Electric, and General Motors, and AT&T, and DuPont and others, formed an advisory panel to assist in the crafting of New Deal policies that in the coming years would transform the American economy amidst brutal and unyielding Depression. ”

“ Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who lost loved ones, and as always, our thanks go out to the brave first responders who arrived immediately to try and save lives, and who are still on the scene keeping people safe. ”