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Home , Betsy Markey, Bill Ritter, Mark Udall

Feb. 14 / Administration of , 2009

White House on February 13 for broadcast on made available by the Office of the Press Sec- February 14. In his address, the President re- retary on February 13 but was embargoed for ferred to H.R. 1, the “American Recovery and release until 6 a.m. on February 14. Reinvestment Act of 2009.” The transcript was

Remarks on Signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in , February 17, 2009

Thank you, everybody. Please have a seat. alive in our time. And that’s why we’re here to- You guys can sit down too. [Laughter] day. Let me begin by saying thank you to a few Now, I don’t want to pretend that today people: First of all, your outstanding Gover- marks the end of our economic problems, nor nor, Bill Ritter, please give Bill a big round of does it constitute all of what we’re going to applause; Lieutenant Governor Barbara have to do to turn our economy around. But O’Brien; Secretary of State Bernie Buescher; today does mark the beginning of the end: the your outstanding mayor, ; beginning of what we need to do to create jobs your new Senator, ; your old for Americans scrambling in the wake of lay- Senator, now my Secretary of the Interior, offs; the beginning of what we need to do to . is not here, but give provide relief for families worried that they him a round of applause anyway. won’t be able to pay next month’s bills; the be- One of the outstanding leaders who helped ginning of the first steps to set our economy on shepherd this process through in record a firmer foundation, paving the way to long- time—please give Max Baucus of Montana a term growth and prosperity. big round of applause. Thank you, Max. To The American Recovery and Reinvestment Secretary Federico Pena, one of my national Act that I will sign today, a plan that meets the cochairs—I would not be here if it were not principles I laid out in January, is the most for Federico. Thank you. To Representative sweeping economic recovery package in our Diana DeGette, who is a—we are in her dis- history. It’s the product of broad consultation trict, so thank you so much; Representative and the recipient of broad support, from busi- ; Representative ; ness leaders, unions, public interest groups, Representative ; to all the other elected officials and outstanding leaders who from the Chamber of Commerce, and the Na- are here; and to the whole Namaste family and tional Association of Manufacturers, as well as Mr. Jones for outstanding work, congratula- the AFL–CIO; from Democrats and Republi- tions. Give them a big round of applause. And cans, mayors as well as Governors. It’s a rare to the best Vice President that we’ve had in a thing in for people with such di- long time, Joe Biden. verse and different viewpoints to come togeth- It is great to be back in Denver. I was here er and support the same bill. And on behalf of last summer—we had a good time—[laugh- our Nation, I want to thank all of them for it, ter]—to accept the nomination of my party including your two outstanding Senators, Mi- and to make a promise to people of all parties chael Bennet and Mark Udall, as well as all the that I would do all that I could to give every members of your congressional delegation. American the chance to make of their lives They did an outstanding job, and they deserve what they will; to see their children climb a big round of applause. higher than they did. And I’m back today to I also want to thank Joe Biden for working say that we have begun the difficult work of behind the scenes from the very start to make keeping that promise. We have begun the es- this recovery act possible. I want to thank sential work of keeping the American Dream Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid for acting so

106 Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 / Feb. 17 quickly and for proving that Congress could to continue pursuing their critical mission. It’s step up to this challenge. an investment that will create a new $2,500 an- I have special thanks to Max Baucus, who’s nual tax credit to put the dream of a college de- the Chairman of the Finance Committee. With- gree within reach for middle class families and out Max, none of this would have happened. He make college affordable for 7 million students, had to work overtime, and push his committee helping more of our sons and daughters aim to work overtime. And I want to thank all the higher, reach further, fulfill their God-given po- committee chairs and Members of Congress for tential. coming up with a plan that is both bold and bal- Because we know that spiraling health care anced enough to meet the demands of this mo- costs are crushing families and businesses alike, ment. The American people were looking to we’re taking the most meaningful steps in years them for leadership, and that’s what they pro- towards modernizing our health care system. vided. It’s an investment that will take the long over- Now, what makes this recovery plan so im- due step of computerizing America’s medical portant is not just that it will create or save 3½ records to reduce the duplication and waste million jobs over the next 2 years, including that costs billions of health care dollars, and 60,000-plus here in Colorado. It’s that we’re medical errors that cost thousands of lives each putting Americans to work doing the work that year. America needs done—[applause]—in critical Further, thanks to the actions we’ve taken, 7 areas that have been neglected for too long; million Americans who lost their health care work that will bring real and lasting change for along the way will continue to get the coverage generations to come. they need, and roughly 20 million more Ameri- Because we know we can’t build our eco- cans can breathe a little easier knowing that nomic future on the transportation and infor- their health care won’t be cut due to a State mation networks of the past, we are remaking budget shortfall. And a historic commitment to the American landscape with the largest new in- wellness initiatives will keep millions of Ameri- vestment in our Nation’s infrastructure since cans from setting foot in the doctor’s office in Eisenhower built an Interstate Highway System the first place, because these are preventable in the 1950s. Because of this investment, nearly diseases, and we’re going to invest in preven- 400,000 men and women will go to work re- tion. building our crumbling roads and bridges, re- So taken together with the enactment earlier pairing our faulty dams and levees, bringing this month of a long-delayed law to extend critical broadband connections to businesses health care to millions more children of work- and homes in nearly every community in Amer- ing families, we have done more in 30 days to ica, upgrading mass transit, building high-speed advance the cause of health care reform than rail lines that will improve travel and commerce this country has done in an entire decade. And throughout our Nation. that’s something we should be proud of. Because we know America can’t outcompete Because we know we can’t power America’s the world tomorrow if our children are being future on energy that’s controlled by foreign out-educated today, we’re making the largest dictators, we are taking big steps down the road investment in education in our Nation’s history. to energy independence, laying the groundwork It’s an investment that will create jobs building for new green energy economies that can create 21st century classrooms and libraries and labs countless well-paying jobs. It’s an investment for millions of children across America. It will that will double the amount of renewable ener- provide funds to train a new generation of math gy produced over the next 3 years. Think about and science teachers, while giving aid to States that: double the amount of in and school districts to stop teachers from being 3 years; provide tax credits and loan guarantees laid off and education programs from being cut. to companies like Namaste, a company that will In a place like New York City, 14,000 teach- be expanding, instead of laying people off, as a ers who were set to be let go may now be able result of the plan that I’m about to sign.

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And in the process, we will transform the State and local governments to prevent layoffs way we use energy. Today, the electricity we of firefighters or police recruits in—[ap- use is carried along a grid of lines and wires plause]—recruits like the ones in Columbus, that date back to Thomas Edison, a grid that Ohio, who were told that instead of being can’t support the demands of this economy. sworn in as officers, they were about to be let This means we’re using 19th and 20th century go. It includes help for those hardest hit by our technologies to battle 21st century problems economic crisis like the nearly 18 million like climate change and energy security. It also Americans who will get larger unemployment means that places like North Dakota checks in the mail. About a third of this pack- can—that can produce a lot of wind energy age comes in the forms of tax cuts—by the can’t deliver it to communities that want it, way, the most progressive in our history, not leading to a gap between how much clean en- only spurring job creation, but putting money ergy we are using and how much we could be in the pockets of 95 percent of hardworking using. families in America. So unlike the tax cuts that The investment we’re making today will we’ve seen in recent years, the vast majority of create a newer, smarter electric grid that will these tax benefits will go not to the wealthiest allow for broader use of alternative energy. Americans, but to the middle class, with those We will build on the work that’s being done in workers who make the least benefiting the places like Boulder, a community that’s on most. its—that’s on pace to be the world’s first smart And it’s a plan that rewards responsibility, grid city. This investment will place smart me- lifting 2 million Americans from poverty by ters in homes to make our energy bills lower, ensuring that anyone who works hard does not make outages less likely, and make it easier to have to raise a child below the poverty line. So use clean energy. It’s an investment that will as a whole, this plan will help poor and work- save taxpayers over $1 billion by slashing ener- ing Americans pull themselves into the middle gy costs in our Federal buildings by 25 per- class in a way we haven’t seen in nearly 50 cent; save working families hundreds of dollars years. a year on their energy bills by weatherizing What I’m signing, then, is a balanced plan over 1 million homes. And it’s an investment with a mix of tax cuts and investments. It’s a that takes the important first step towards a plan that’s been put together without ear- national transmission superhighway that will marks or the usual pork barrel spending. It’s a connect our cities to the windy plains of the plan that will be implemented with an unprec- Dakotas and the sunny deserts of the South- edented level of transparency and accountabil- west. ity. Even beyond energy, from the National In- With a recovery package of this size comes a stitutes of Health to the National Science responsibility to assure every taxpayer that we Foundation, this recovery act represents the are being careful with the money they work so biggest increase in basic research funding in hard to earn. And that’s why I’m assigning a the long history of America’s noble endeavor team of managers to ensure that the precious to better understand our world. And just as dollars we’ve invested are being spent wisely President Kennedy sparked an explosion of in- and well. We will—[applause]. Governor Rit- novation when he set America’s sights on the ter, Mayor Hickenlooper, we’re going to hold Moon, I hope this investment will ignite our Governors and local officials who receive the imagination once more, spurring new discov- money to the same high standard. And we ex- eries and breakthroughs in science, in medi- pect you, the American people, to hold us ac- cine, in energy, to make our economy stronger countable for the results. And that’s why we’ve and our Nation more secure and our planet created recovery.gov, a web site so that every safer for our children. American can go online and see how this mon- Now, while this package is composed mostly ey is being spent and what kind of jobs is being of critical investments, it also includes aid to created, where those jobs are being created.

108 Administration of Barack Obama, 2009 / Feb. 17

We want transparency and accountability es. But I have every confidence that if we are throughout this process. willing to continue doing the critical work that Now, as important as the step we take today must be done—by each of us, by all of us—then is, this legislation represents only the first part we will leave this struggling economy behind us, of the broad strategy we need to address our and come out on the other side, more prosper- economic crisis. In the coming days and weeks, ous as a people. I’ll be launching other aspects of the plan. We For our American story is not—and never will need to stabilize, repair, and reform our has been—about things coming easy. It’s about banking system, and get credit flowing again to rising to the moment when the moment is hard, families and businesses. We will need to end and converting crisis into opportunity, and see- the culture where we ignore problems until ing to it that we emerge from whatever trials we they become full-blown crises instead of recog- face stronger than we were before. It’s about nizing that the only way to build a thriving rejecting the notion that our fate is somehow economy is to set and enforce firm rules of the written for us, and instead laying claim to a des- road. tiny of our own making. That’s what earlier gen- We must stem the spread of foreclosures and erations of Americans have done, that’s what we falling home values for all Americans and do ev- owe our children, that’s what we are doing to- erything we can to help responsible homeown- day. ers stay in their homes, something I’ll talk more Thank you, Colorado. Let’s get to work. about tomorrow. And we will need to do every- Thank you. thing in the short term to get our economy moving again, while at the same time recogniz- NOTE: The President spoke at 12:50 p.m. at the ing that we have inherited a trillion-dollar defi- Denver Museum of Nature and Science. In his cit, and we need to begin restoring fiscal disci- remarks, he referred to Sens. Michael F. Ben- pline and taming our exploding deficits over the net and Mark Udall; Reps. Betsy Markey and long term. Jared Polis; former Secretary of Energy Federi- None of this will be easy. The road to recov- co Pena; and Blake Jones, president, Namaste ery will not be straight. We will make progress Solar Electric, Inc., who introduced the Presi- and there may be some slippage along the way. dent. The transcript released by the Office of It will demand courage and discipline. It will the Press Secretary also included the remarks of demand a new sense of responsibility that’s Vice President Joe Biden. H.R. 1, approved been missing from Wall Street all the way to February 17, was assigned Public Law No. 111– Washington. There will be hazards and revers- 5.

Statement on Signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 February 17, 2009

Today I have signed into law H.R. 1, the reform in education, double renewable energy “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of while fostering efficiency in the use of our ener- 2009.” The Act provides a direct fiscal boost to gy, and improve quality while bringing down help lift our Nation from the greatest economic costs in healthcare. Middle class families will crisis in our lifetimes and lay the foundation for get tax cuts and the most vulnerable will get the further growth. This recovery plan will help to largest increase in assistance in decades. save or create as many as three to four million The situation we face could not be more seri- jobs by the end of 2010, the vast majority of ous. We have inherited an economic crisis as them in the private sector. It will make the most deep and as dire as any since the Great Depres- significant investment in America’s roads, sion. Economists from across the spectrum bridges, mass transit, and other infrastructure have warned that failure to act quickly would since the construction of the Interstate High- lead to the disappearance of millions of more way System. It will make investments to foster jobs and national unemployment rates that

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