FAIRFAX, Va. -- Though he hasn't yet proposed much that's specific, President-elect Barack Obama urged Congress on Thursday to act swiftly on his proposal to jump-start the economy and warned that a delay would cost jobs and hurt families.
"We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead," Obama said, according to the text of a speech delivered at George Mason University in the Virginia suburbs of Washington.
"But I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse."
He offered some details of his emerging plan:
"To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years," he said.
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"We will modernize more than 75 percent of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of 2 million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced, jobs building solar panels and wind turbines, constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings, and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain."
Mostly, however, he used the speech to build support for his stimulus proposal, which is likely to cost around $1 trillion over two years. That sales pitch grew more complicated with this week's projection that this year's federal budget deficit will reach a record $1.2 trillion.
Obama hopes that the speech will build more support outside Washington for fast -- and expensive -- action. Among the invited guests attending the speech were the governors of Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as the mayors of Louisville, Ky., and Washington. All are Democrats.
"There is no doubt that the cost of this plan will be considerable. It will certainly add to the budget deficit in the short term," Obama said.
"But equally certain are the consequences of doing too little or nothing at all, for that will lead to an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes and confidence in our economy."
He said that government alone couldn't create jobs or make the economy grow but that only government could break the vicious cycle of frozen credit and financial collapse that was strangling the economy.
He repeated his general goals of improving the infrastructure of roads and schools, improving energy conservation and streamlining health care.
Douglas County Administrator Steve Koszarek said the county has submitted a list of road and forestry projects it hopes to be able to address as part of the proposed economic stimulus package. With stagnant shared revenue from the state and ongoing levy freezes handed down from the Legislature, the county is facing the possibility that only one of two needed highway projects could be completed without it.
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The highway department budget adopted for 2009 will only allow for one 4.6-mile reconstruction project on County Road S, and plans for the federal- and state-funded County Road A remain intact, but plans to reconstruct County Road F could be delayed without help from the stimulus package.
Obama also vowed help for local governments, stressing that his proposal will "save the public-sector jobs of teachers, cops, firefighters and others who provide vital services."
The Superior Telegram contributed to this report.
-- Copyright © 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
