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 The War on the Economy - White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs 1/23/09 — Monday, January 26, 2009 — Transcripts provided by Master Transcription  Full 1/23/09 Press Briefing Transcript M. Garrett: [Major Garrett, FOX News] President Bush, after 9/11, said the United States and its government was engaged in a war on terror. Is that what this administration calls it, and if not, why? Secondarily, on your point about stimulative, the CBO has said that $219 billion of the $825 billion in the House bill cannot be spent and will not be spent until 2011 at the earliest. How is that…? Press Sec.: Is this the CBO report that came out earlier this week? M. Garrett: Yes. Press Sec.: Okay. M. Garrett: Yes. What is the President's appraisal of that CBO analysis, and what do you know here that the Congressional Budget Office, a neutral observer, doesn't know? Press Sec.: Well, let me outline what we know. M. Garrett: Don't forget the first question. Press Sec.: The first question I think I alluded to some yesterday. Look, I would point you to the words that the President said in his inaugural address about the challenges that we face. On the stimulus package – and I've got a letter that we'll make sure that each of you have that our OMB Director sent to the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, Kent Conrad – we believe, looking at the packages that exist, that 75 percent of the money will be spent out in an 18-month period of time, with great stimulative effect. The CBO report looked at a… only a portion of the legislation and looked at that portion of the legislation before it began the committee process that Jake was talking about – a snapshot in time that's long past. It doesn't reflect increased spend-out rates. The letter that Mr. Orszag sent to Conrad states that the administration will hold the line on ensuring that at least 75 percent of that money is spent out over an 18-month period. And there are things that can be done in the legislation to ensure that that happens. Let me give you an example, just so you know. There's a provision to speed the money that says if in -- I think in the CBO analysis was 120 days on some projects -- if the money is not spent, then that money is basically reshuffled to other projects. They found that the spend-out rate on 120 days was actually less than a spend-out rate on 180 days – right? So that legislation gets tweaked to 180 days, because the CBO determined that that reshuffling of money would delay its spend-out rates. So those tweaks can be made, and have – I think in some cases have been made, to ensure that three-quarters of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are spent in the first year and a half. That will create jobs; that would get people working again; get the economy moving again. That's what the President set out to do, and that's what this bill does. M. Garrett: If I could follow up, since you mentioned Christine Romer. She has a very substantial body of written work as an economist, assessing what brought the United States out of recession and depression. And in each of those reports, she concluded it was monetary policy that was a driving force in lifting the U.S. economy, not direct government spending. She said that about the Depression and subsequent recessions. What is it about this circumstance that gives you greater confidence than she found, looking at all of those economic circumstances that direct spending can turn the tide? Press Sec.: Well, I'm not an economist and I don't play one on TV, and I won't play one on TV today. Obviously, the Fed and a number of other places have taken a lot of monetary steps that I think many have commented – we have very few of those left. The report that she prepared for the President, based on the package that we were putting together, did show that the plan would create jobs, would stimulate the economy, would make important and necessary investments for our long-term growth. She's confident, the economic team is confident, and most importantly, the President is confident, that this is a package that will help turn our economy around. Things will likely get worse before they get better. But I believe, and the President believes, that Congress has to act quickly to ensure that this package gets on his desk by President's Day recess, so that we can begin turning the economy around. Congressional Budget Office | Economy | Major Garrett | Press Briefing | Robert Gibbs | Stimulus Package | War on Terror | White House Press Corps Labels: Congressional Budget Office, Economy, Major Garrett, Press Briefing, Robert Gibbs, Stimulus Package, War on Terror, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 5:33 PM
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