Obama Hails Stimulus Passage as 'Major Milestone'

By Michael D. Shear
CHICAGO -- President Obama today called congressional passage of his stimulus plan "a major milestone" in efforts to turn around the nation's economy, and he said he would soon sign the massive legislation into law.

The comments, in his weekly Internet and radio address, came just hours after a late-night vote in the Senate gave final approval to the $787 billion spending and tax cut plan.

In the address, Obama said the plan would "ignite spending" in the country, and he praised the members of Congress -- almost exclusively Democrats -- who "came together in common purpose to make it happen."

He also promised skeptical listeners that the government's poor track record of wasting money would not be repeated this time.

"Our goal must be to spend these precious dollars with unprecedented accountability, responsibility, and transparency," he said.

"Once the plan is put into action, a new Web site -- recovery.gov -- will allow any American to watch where the money goes and weigh in with comments and questions. And I encourage every American to do so," he said. "Ultimately, this is your money, and you deserve to know where it's going and how it's spent."

The president warned that the stimulus package, one of the largest spending plans ever passed by Congress, was only part of what will be necessary to right the economy.

He said the weeks to come will require efforts to fix the banking system, get the housing industry back on its feet and reform regulatory structures that failed to catch the problems in the first place.

He also promised to submit a budget later this month that will "begin to restore the discipline these challenging times demand."

He said deficit spending is necessary to jump-start the economy. But he said that the country's "long-term" goal must be to tame the deficit.

"Our long-term economic growth demands that we tame our burgeoning federal deficit; that we invest in the things we need, and dispense with the things we don't," he said.

After weeks of sobering, even depressing speeches, Obama's address ended on a hopeful note, quoting former president John F. Kennedy, who said, "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks."

Obama said: "America, we will prove equal to this task. It will take time, and it will take effort, but working together, we will turn this crisis into opportunity and emerge from our painful present into a brighter future. After a week spent with the fundamentally decent men and women of this nation, I have never been more certain of that."