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RemarksofPresidentBarackObamaWeeklyAddressSaturday,January24th,2009WebeginthisyearandthisAdministrationinthemidstofanunprecedentedcrisisthatcallsforunprecedentedaction.Justthisweek,wesawmorepeoplefileforunemploymentthanatanytimeinthelasttwenty-sixyears,andexpertsagreethatifnothingisdone,theunemploymentratecouldreachdoubledigits.Oureconomycouldfall$1trillionshortofitsfullcapacity,whichtranslatesintomorethan$12,000inlostincomeforafamilyoffour.Andwecouldloseagenerationofpotential,asmoreyoungAmericansareforcedtoforgocollegedreamsorthechancetotrainforthejobsofthefuture.Inshort,ifwedonotactboldlyandswiftly,abadsituationcouldbecomedramaticallyworse.ThatiswhyIhaveproposedanAmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentPlantoimmediatelyjumpstartjobcreationaswellaslong-termeconomicgrowth.IampleasedtosaythatbothpartiesinCongressarealreadyhardatworkonthisplan,andIhopetosignitintolawinlessthanamonth.It’saplanthatwillsaveorcreatethreetofourmillionjobsoverthenextfewyears,andonethatrecognizesboththeparadoxandthepromiseofthismoment-thefactthattherearemillionsofAmericanstryingtofindworkevenas,allaroundthecountry,there’ssomuchworktobedone.That’swhythisisnotjustashort-termprogramtoboostemployment.It’sonethatwillinvestinourmostimportantprioritieslikeenergyandeducation;healthcareandanewinfrastructurethatarenecessarytokeepusstrongandcompetitiveinthe21stcentury.TodayI’dliketotalkspecificallyabouttheprogressweexpecttomakeineachoftheseareas.Toacceleratethecreationofacleanenergyeconomy,wewilldoubleourcapacitytogeneratealternativesourcesofenergylikewind,solar,andbiofuelsoverthenextthreeyears.We’llbegintobuildanewelectricitygridthatlaydownmorethan3,000milesoftransmissionlinestoconveythisnewenergyfromcoasttocoast.We’llsavetaxpayers$2billionayearbymaking75%offederalbuildingsmoreenergyefficient,andsavetheaverageworkingfamily$350ontheirenergybillsbyweatherizing2.5millionhomes.Tolowerhealthcarecost,cutmedicalerrors,andimprovecare,we’llcomputerizethenation’shealthrecordinfiveyears,savingbillionsofdollarsinhealthcarecostsandcountlesslives.Andwe’llprotecthealthinsuranceformorethan8millionAmericanswhoareindangeroflosingtheircoverageduringthiseconomicdownturn.Toensureourchildrencancompeteandsucceedinthisneweconomy,we’llrenovateandmodernize10,000schools,buildingstate-of-the-artclassrooms,libraries,andlabstoimprovelearningforoverfivemillionstudents.We’llinvestmoreinPellGrantstomakecollegeaffordableforsevenmillionmorestudents,providea$2,500collegetaxcredittofourmillionstudents,andtriplethenumberoffellowshipsinsciencetohelpspurthenextgenerationofinnovation.Finally,wewillrebuildandretrofitAmericatomeetthedemandsofthe21stcentury.ThatmeansrepairingandmodernizingthousandsofmilesofAmerica’sroadwaysandprovidingnewmasstransitoptionsformillionsofAmericans.ItmeansprotectingAmericabysecuring90majorportsandcreatingabettercommunicationsnetworkforlocallawenforcementandpublicsafetyofficialsintheeventofanemergency.AnditmeansexpandingbroadbandaccesstomillionsofAmericans,sobusinesscancompeteonalevel-playingfield,whereverthey’relocated.Iknowthatsomeareskepticalaboutthesizeandscaleofthisrecoveryplan.Iunderstandthatskepticism,whichiswhythisrecoveryplanmustandwillincludeunprecedentedmeasuresthatwillallowtheAmericanpeopletoholdmyAdministrationaccountablefortheseresults.Wewon’tjustthrowmoneyatourproblems-we’llinvestinwhatworks.Insteadofpoliticiansdolingoutmoneybehindaveilofsecrecy,decisionsaboutwhereweinvestwillbemadepublic,andinformedbyindependentexpertswheneverpossible.We’lllaunchanunprecedentedefforttorootoutwaste,inefficiency,andunnecessaryspendinginourgovernment,andeveryAmericanwillbeabletoseehowandwherewespendtaxpayerdollarsbygoingtoanewwebsitecalledrecovery.gov.Noonepolicyorprogramwillsolvethechallengeswefacerightnow,norwillthiscrisisrecedeinashortperiodoftime.Butifweactnowandactboldly;ifwestartrewardinghardworkandresponsibilityoncemore;ifweactascitizensandnotpartisansandbeginagaintheworkofremakingAmerica,thenIhavefaiththatwewillemergefromthistryingtimeevenstrongerandmoreprosperousthanwewerebefore.Thanksforlistening.ADDRESSOFTHEPRESIDENTTOTHENATIONJanuary31,2009ThismorningI'dliketotalkaboutsomegoodnewsandsomebadnewsasweconfrontoureconomiccrisis.ThebadnewsiswellknowntoAmericansacrossourcountryaswecontinuetostrugglethroughunprecedentedeconomicturmoil.Yesterdaywelearnedthatoureconomyshrankbynearly4percentfromOctoberthroughDecember.Thatdeclinewasthelargestinoveraquartercentury,anditunderscorestheseriousnessoftheeconomiccrisisthatmyadministrationfoundwhenwetookoffice.AlreadytheslowdownhascostustensofthousandsofjobsinJanuaryalone.Andthepictureislikelytogetworsebeforeitgetsbetter.Makenomistake,thesearenotjustnumbers.Behindeverystatisticthere'sastory.ManyAmericanshaveseentheirlivesturnedupsidedown.Familieshavebeenforcedtomakepainfulchoices.Parentsarestrugglingtopaythebills.Patientscan'taffordcare.Studentscan'tkeeppacewithtuition.Andworkersdon'tknowwhethertheirretirementwillbedignifiedandsecure.Thegoodnewsisthatwearemovingforwardwithasenseofurgencyequaltothechallenge.ThisweektheHousepasse