So I’m on my way to do a TV interview last night on a set of middle-class initiatives we announced yesterday, when I learn that what they really want to talk about is our proposed freeze on non-security discretionary spending.  Ok — I’m flexible — and in fact, the two are related in an important way that folks need to understand.

First, an important note on timing. No one is arguing that we should take our foot off the accelerator today, when the economic recovery remains fragile and job growth has yet to return. In fact, you’ll hear from the President tomorrow night about measures we should undertake right away jumpstart job creation.   In his words and deeds, the President has made clear that recovery comes first.   But that doesn’t mean we should wait to start changing the same bad habits in Washington that left a $1.3 trillion deficit on our doorstep when we entered office in January 2009, especially when we can do so without cutting back on our jobs agenda.

Second, a little background on freeze-eology: there are two ways to do a freeze like this: (1) an across-the-board freeze on every program outside of national security; and (2) a surgical approach where overall totals are frozen but some individual programs go up and others go down. In short, a hatchet versus a scalpel. 

During the campaign, you may recall that John McCain touted option 1 – the hatchet approach of an across-the-board freeze.

The President was critical of that approach then, and we would be critical of it now. It’s not what we’re proposing.   To the contrary, the entire theory of the President’s proposed freeze is to dial up the stuff that will support job growth and innovation while dialing down the stuff that doesn’t.   Under our plan, some discretionary spending will go up; some will go down.   That’s a big difference from a hatchet. 

Take, for example, the policies we announced yesterday — a significant expansion (a 20% increase) in a program that provides services for seniors, like respite care and in-home services; a program to limit student loan repayments to 10 percent of income (after living expenses); an expansion of two tax credits, one for child care and another for retirement savings.

How can we expand these programs in the context of a freeze?  By making sure that the freeze either holds steady or increases those parts of the discretionary budget that support jobs and income security for folks who need them, while whacking the wasteful subsidies that support lobbyists and special interests.

President Obama deeply understands the various imperatives of this moment in time, even if they don’t always point in the same direction.

We must do all we can to help those who are still reeling from the impact of the great recession; we must create the economic conditions for robust, private-sector job growth, and we must make the investments in clean energy, health care, and education that will ensure that the next economic expansion is characterized by broadly shared prosperity, not narrow gains to financial speculators.

At the same time, we must take steps to move toward a sustainable fiscal position, and that’s where the discretionary freeze comes in.  

You can’t thread that needle with a hatchet.  You’ve got to use a scalpel.  That may be a truly lousy metaphor, but it’s good public policy.

Jared Bernstein is Chief Economist to Vice President Biden, and Executive Director of the Middle Class Task Force

This week, CNN has been taking a good, hard look at the Recovery Act and examining some of the projects being funded across the country to create jobs and drive economic growth.  As they do this, they’re asking some questions about how Recovery dollars are being spent.  We wanted to provide the full set of facts about some of the projects featured.  For example:

On the big picture, one report claims that the Recovery Act’s weatherization program, part of an unprecedented investment in energy retrofits, is moving too slowly.  A closer examination shows something different:

After starting a little slower than we’d hoped, the program has picked up steam and we are now on a path to reach our target of weatherizing 20,000-30,000 homes a month.
Grantees have now spent over $445 million in the weatherization program, and the pace of spending continues to accelerate.  The states and local agencies spent the summer gearing up – training and hiring new workers and putting in place the accountability and transparency mechanisms that are central to the Recovery Act.  In the fall, the local agencies began to weatherize homes in earnest and are continuing to increase the pace of weatherization every month.
And states are already able to put to work the first 50 percent of their Recovery funds.  As part of the oversight and management process under the weatherization program, states are required to weatherize 30 percent of their estimated units and demonstrate they are meeting the accountability, transparency and job creation goals of the Recovery Act before they can access the remaining 50 percent of obligated funds. 

When President Obama and his Cabinet took office a year ago, they faced an array of historic challenges: an economy in freefall; job losses averaging almost 700,000 a month; a middle class under assault; two wars and badly frayed global alliances; and a staggering $1.3 trillion budget deficit.

Faced with these unparalleled challenges, the President and his Cabinet went straight to work.  The Administration took bold steps to: rescue the country from a potential second Great Depression; rebuild the economy for the long-term by creating good-paying jobs, improving education, reducing health care costs, and promoting energy independence; and restore America’s standing and leadership in the world.

Over the past year, the Administration has made real progress towards these goals.  Today, I’m pleased to announce a new interactive online feature, "The President’s Cabinet Reporting to You."  Through short videos, members of the President’s Cabinet describe their agencies’ accomplishments over the past year, as well as their plans for moving the country forward.

For example:

Energy Secretary Chu highlights the thousands of green jobs that have been created through Recovery Act dollars;
Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius talks about the success in helping to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus;
Secretary of State Clinton describes her department’s efforts to restore our global partnerships; and
Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag discusses the President’s initiative to streamline government programs that work and eliminate those that don’t.

This Friday morning, President Obama will convene the fifth Cabinet Meeting of his Administration and continue his discussions with the Cabinet about their efforts to create more jobs, rebuild the middle class, and transform our economy for the 21st Century.

Chris Lu is Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released their 4th Quarter 2009 industry assessment, in which they credited the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) with almost solely turning a potential decline into historic growth in the U.S. wind industry.  According to their press release:

Early last year, before [ARRA], the industry anticipated that in 2009 wind power development might drop by as much as 50% from 2008 levels, with equivalent job losses.  The clear commitment by the President to create clean energy jobs and the swift implementation of ARRA incentives by the Administration in mid-summer reversed the situation. Recovery Act incentives spurred the growth of construction, operations and maintenance, and management jobs, helping the industry to save and create jobs in those sectors and shine as a bright spot in the economy.

ARRA included more than $80 billion in clean energy investments.  Through these investments, American companies and American workers are involved in unprecedented growth in the generation of renewable energy, expanding manufacturing capacity for clean energy, advancing vehicle and fuel technologies, and building a bigger, better, smarter electric grid… all while saving and creating jobs here at home.  Some of the direct benefits this report identifies include:

The nation’s fleet of wind plants grew by 39% last year alone. 
America’s wind power fleet will avoid an estimated 62 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, equivalent to taking 10.5 million cars off the road.

This report is good news, and it is consistent with the clean energy jobs numbers recently released by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.  Across the country, communities are beginning to establish the clean energy industries that will power the 21st century global economy.  Just last week, President Obama got to see firsthand how clean energy investments are putting people to work during his visit to the Wind Turbine Manufacturing and Fab Lab facilities at Lorain County Community College (LCCC) in Elyria, Ohio.  LCCC is offering the first associate’s degree credit program in Ohio in the burgeoning field of wind turbine power generation.  This program will train students to become installation and maintenance professionals in the wind energy sector.  The new associate’s degree program will cover an overview of alternative energy sources, with specialized training in electronics, electronic controls, mechanical systems and more. 

During the visit, the President spoke on the undertapped potential for clean energy jobs:

That’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass a jobs bill to put more Americans to work building off our Recovery Act; put more Americans back to work rebuilding roads and railways; provide tax breaks to small businesses for hiring people; offer families incentives to make their homes more energy-efficient, saving them money while creating jobs.

That’s why we enacted initiatives that are beginning to give rise to a clean energy economy.  That’s part of what’s going on in this community college.  If we hadn’t done anything with the Recovery Act, talk to the people who are building wind turbines and solar panels.  They would have told you their industry was about to collapse because credit had completely frozen.  And now you’re seeing all across Ohio some of the — this state has received more funds than just about anybody in order to build on that clean energy economy — new cutting-edge wind turbines and batteries that are going to be going into energy-efficient cars.

Almost $25 million of our investment went to a plant right here in Elyria that’s helping produce the car batteries of the future.  That’s what we’re going to keep on doing for the rest of 2010 and 2011 and 2012, until we’ve got this country working again. 

The AWEA assessment shows the solid progress made over the last year, but there is still more to be done to both ensure a long-term market signal  for renewables and to ensure the U.S. is the global leader in clean energy technology.  To achieve this goal, Congress must pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation to make renewable energy the profitable kind of energy and provide business with the certainty and predictability they need. The House of Representatives has already passed such legislation and the Senate is working to do the same. The President will continue to make passage of legislation a top priority given its benefits for our economy, our security and the environment.

Heather Zichal is Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

As we’ve been following CNN’s Stimulus Project coverage this week, we’ve noticed that, like us, they’re meeting Americans across the country who are finding work, growing their businesses, buying their first homes and receiving needed financial assistance thanks to the Recovery Act.  Here is just a sampling of some of the people who have told CNN the Recovery Act is making a difference for their families and their communities.

Michael Johnson of Orlando, FL said the Recovery Act’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program is “truly is an impactful program.” “This truly is an impactful program. That my kids could wake up in their own rooms on Christmas morning and walk out to the Christmas tree. I mean we never thought we’d have a place to put a Christmas tree.” [CNN, 1/25/10]

Bobby Jones, a general foreman from Aiken, SC said the Recovery Act is "keeping [him] employed.” “I’m working on the DUO project (depleted uranium oxide), I was in D&D (deactivation and decommissioning) and I moved over here [to DOE’s Savannah River Site] in October. They needed someone to run the night shift so I came over. It’s still stimulus funded and it’s keeping me employed.” [CNNMoney.com, 1/25/10]

Wellington Hall a traffic engineer from Providence, RI said “none of this would be possible without the stimulus and I’m very grateful for that.” “I just got assigned as a project manager of a highway safety improvement project — the goal is to identify intersections with high crash rates and work with consultants to mitigate accidents and make them safer. It feels good to know that these are some of the roads I drive on and that my coworkers and friends drive on. It feels good to know I’m making an impact. Right now I’m working on other things too, like using renewable energy to save on electrical costs. There are always things to keep me busy. This job has definitely helped me. I bought a house in august with my fiancé, got engaged in November and graduated last week. None of this would be possible without the stimulus and I’m very grateful for that. We’re planning on getting married sometime in 2011.” [CNNMoney.com, 1/25/10]

Officer Patrick Dunn of Englewood, CO said that “If it wasn’t for the stimulus I probably wouldn’t have been hired.” “If it wasn’t for the stimulus, I probably wouldn’t have been hired. We had one income. My wife has been supporting the whole income. We have three kids. I have a 6, 5 1/2-year-old daughter and 20-month-old twins. There was a lot of pressure put on her.” [CNN, 1/25/10]

Officer Eddie Blackwell of Englewood, CO says the Recovery Act “gave [him] a golden opportunity to become a police officer.” “The stimulus package opened the opportunity, gave me a golden opportunity to become a police officer. I jumped on it.” [CNN, 1/25/10]

Chief Tom Vandermee of Englewood, CO believes the Recovery Act “has been extremely rewarding for [his] community.” “Our slice of this stimulus package, I can tell you, has been extremely rewarding for this community.” [CNN, 1/25/10]

Troy Cooper, an electrician from Coatesville, PA says the Recovery Act is “definitely going to help” him re-hire workers he was forced to lay off last year. “What we’re doing has some of the incentive money built into it, so I say, yeah it’s definitely going to help. Hopefully within the next month or so I’ll be able to start bringing people back on from layoff.” [CNN, 1/25/10]

Richard Bennett an Iraq War veteran and the President Fidelias Design and Construction from Coatesville, PA says the opportunity he now has because of the Recovery Act “feels amazing, almost surreal.” “Now I’m president of a multimillion dollar construction company. It feels amazing, almost surreal.” [CNN, 1/25/10]

Patricia Dunn, a nurse practitioner from Mount Kisco, NY says the Recovery Act “made it possible for [her] to have this job.” “I had wanted to work for this organization six months prior to being offered my current position. They had a part-time opening but I needed full-time. When the [stimulus] funding came through, they offered me a position. Without a doubt, the funding made it possible for me to have this job. We’ve also, through stimulus, been able to hire more employees and that’s great. The organization has hired several new physicians who started a few months ago.” [CNNMoney.com, 1/25/10]

Valatisha Jacinto, a school teacher from Waco, TX, “never thought anything that good would ever happen to her” before she was able to buy a house with an $8,000 Recovery Act tax credit through the first-time homebuyers program. "Thanks to the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, in March, Valatisha bought a three-bedroom, two-bath home for $105,000. She took out a 4.9% FHA-insured 30-year loan, putting her monthly expenses, including property taxes and insurance, at just $830. She says, ‘I never thought anything that good would happen to me.’" [CNNMoney.com, 1/25/10]

Rob Logan from Ypsilanti, MI “wouldn’t have been able to afford [his] house” without the Recovery Act.

Rob bought his Ypsilanti, Mich., house for $71,000 in October because of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. "I wouldn’t have been able to afford my house without it. It was one of the main reasons I started looking." [CNNMoney.com, 1/25/10]

Chris Saliture from St. Paul, MN says the Recovery Act is “what got [him] started” looking for a house. "For Chris, the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers credit was vital. ‘That’s what got me started. I knew the incentive program was going on. I may still have looked, but this had an impact on what I could afford." [CNNMoney.com, 1/25/10]

Liz Oxhorn is Recovery Act Communications Director

Last month, two Senators – who, by the way, opposed the Recovery Act from the beginning – released a report claiming that Recovery Act funds have largely been wasted or mismanaged and the program is not working.  Curiously, their report came just as we learned the economy had begun to grow again for the first time in more than a year – something many economists say is largely due to the Recovery Act – and right after the Congressional Budget Office, Congress’s nonpartisan research arm embraced by Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, said that the Recovery Act was already responsible for well over 1 million jobs.  At the time, we debunked many of the claims in the report. 

But CNN recently decided to find out for themselves – and the verdict couldn’t be more clear:

“But we took a closer look at the Senators’ top ten examples of so-called waste, we found nine of the ten did not tell the whole story and in some cases were inaccurate.”  [CNN, 1/25/10]

You may recall the Senators’ claim at the time that: “The tranquil hamlet of Bainbridge Island, Washington, received $190,000 to upgrade a patrol boat for which it has little need—while it considers downsizing its police force.” [McCain/Coburn Stimulus Checkup, 12/8/10] 

Not true, Lt. Bob Day of the Bainbridge Island Police Department told CNN: 

“There’s some technology we’ll be getting with this grant that is going to be able to help us better protect the port and to share information with port security partners.”  [Lt. Bob Day, CNN, 1/25/10]

In fact, Lt. Day questions whether the two Senators understand security priorities:

“Unless Senators Coburn and McCain think that homeland defense and port security is something that really isn’t important and it isn’t a priority, I would take exception with their estimate on that.”  [Lt. Bob Day, CNN, 1/25/10]

And notes the purchase supports jobs:

“The vendors we’re working with, it’s keeping their people employed.”  [Lt. Bob Day, CNN, 1/25/10]

CNN’s verdict?

“[T]hey called the upgrade to this boat unnecessary in a small town they call a tranquil hamlet. But more than 6 million passengers travel each year on the ferry between Bainbridge island and Seattle.  City officials say the ferry system is a high risk security target and the stimulus money a valid investment. The Department of Homeland Security agrees.” [CNN, 1/25/10]

And then there was the Senators’ claim that: An “almost empty mall” was awarded an energy grant to install a geothermal heating and cooling system. [McCain/Coburn Stimulus Checkup, 12/8/10]

Not true, developer Dave Thrash told CNN – the mall already has three department stores committed to the new project:

“We’re not going to heat an empty mall. We’re developing the property into a modern open-air center, and the goal is to deploy this technology into the commercial space.”  [Dave Thrash, CNN, 1/25/10]

In fact, the project will create more than 200 jobs and cut costs the Department of Energy’s Matt Rogers notes:

“Jobs, cost and innovation. What made us excited were the ability to create more than 200 jobs for just the construction of this project…. And in the particular technology that they are using here is an innovative approach to ground source heat pumps that actually makes the capital cost lower.”  [Matt Rogers, CNN, 1/25/10]

If this were the first time the Senators had released a report on the Recovery Act that had more holes than a block of Swiss cheese, it might be easier to consider this a simple case of confusion.  But we aren’t talking about a great track record with accuracy here.  The last time the Senators went through this exercise, more than half of the items in that report turned out to be false or misleading claims as well – while other projects attacked included medical research to help hearing impaired children, and a state of the art project to create jobs in advanced technology.

While this may have been an entertaining exercise for the two Senators, the underlying issues here could not be more serious.  Last year, we faced the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression – and while others, including the two Senators, would have preferred to do nothing, we chose to act through the Recovery Act and other economic rescue efforts.  Nearly a year later, the evidence is now undeniable that the Recovery Act is working to create jobs and drive economic growth across the country.  In fact,  the CBO now says the Recovery Act is responsible for as many as 2.4 million jobs through projects like these:

In Oklahoma, the Recovery Act is helping build new flood-control dams and repair old, unsafe, and obsolete dams across the state – a move that not only creates jobs, but saves taxpayer dollars usually spent cleaning up floods. 
In Arizona, a local company is putting $99 million in Recovery funds, which were matched by an equal amount of private capital, to launch the largest deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in U.S. history – an effort the company says will create an additional 750 position across multiple states. 

The question is not whether the Recovery Act is money well-spent.  Everyone from independent economists and the CBO to Republican and Democratic governors and workers across the country on the job at Recovery projects says that it is.  The question is whether critics like the two Senators will finally admit that they were wrong to oppose this vital job-creating legislation – and that it’s working in Arizona, Oklahoma and across the country.

Liz Oxhorn is Recovery Act Communications Director

When President Obama walks into the Capitol on Wednesday to deliver his State of the Union speech, millions of American viewers will tune in. It is a unique moment for the President to address the public on a broad spectrum of issues, including economic recovery and job creation.  Of course, many Americans will react to the speech with questions, comments, and concerns.

From our live webstream to a free iPhone app, the White House is using technology to make sure the President’s State of the Union Address reaches as many people as possible.  Now we are excited to announce how President Obama will also be using the web to offer the public a direct and participatory way to communicate back to him.

After the President’s speech begins this Wednesday (1/27) at 9pm EST, anyone will be able to submit a follow-up question and vote on others at YouTube.com/CitizenTube.  Then next week, the President will answer questions in a special online event, live from the White House.

Don’t miss the speech at 9pm EST on Wednesday night and the chance to follow-up with your questions.  We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

President Obama and Vice President Biden held a Middle Class Task Force meeting during which they discussed key initiatives for middle class families. Topics of discussion previewed the major themes of the President’s State of the Union address, which include creating good jobs, addressing the deficit, changing Washington, and fighting for middle class families.

After travelling across the country and hearing from struggling parents, students, and workers, Vice President Biden and the Task Force proposed several policy initiatives to help middle class families, including:

Nearly doubling the child and dependent care tax credit for families making under $85,000
Limiting a student’s federal loan payments to 10 percent of his/her income
Creating a system of automatic workplace IRAs
Expanding tax credits to match retirement savings
Expanding support for families balancing work while caring for elderly relatives

Vice President Biden, emphasizing first and foremost that getting jobs back on track was the highest priority, explained why these measures are also of tremendous importance in remarks after the meeting: "We give them the tools, the flexibility, even just a chance to succeed, we’re not only going to rebuild this economy, we’re going to offer millions of Americans to build a future that they hope and still believe is available to them."

Vice President Joe Biden discusses the administration’s economic initiatives for struggling middle class families at a meeting of the Middle Class Task Force at the White House

President Obama closed his remarks with the over-arching principle guiding his Administration during these times:

None of these steps alone will solve all the challenges facing the middle class. Joe understands that; so do I. So do all my members of the Cabinet and our economic team. But hopefully some of these steps will reestablish some of the security that’s slipped away in recent years. Because in the end, that’s how Joe and I measure progress — not by how the markets are doing, but by how the American people are doing. It’s about whether they see some progress in their own lives.

So we’re going to keep fighting to rebuild our economy so that hard work is once again rewarded, wages and incomes are once again rising, and the middle class is once again growing. And above all, we’re going to keep fighting to renew the American Dream and keep it alive — not just in our time, but for all time.

The Task Force’s final report will be released in February, in the meantime read the full transcript of the meeting or the White House background for more information.

Ed. Note: In addition to the post below, take a look at some photos and footage courtesy of the Navy.

America’s young Sailors are serving with compassion and strength alongside their multi-agency partners as they distribute food, water, medical help and shelter to the Haitian people.

The U.S. Navy has 14 ships and 58 aircraft on station in the vicinity of Haiti and has provided over 1.4 million bottles of water, 36,433 pounds of medical supplies, 888,700 meals.  And today USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), USS Bataan (LHD 5) and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) are treating 595 patients aboard.

The experiences of these men and women are being shared first-hand through social media sites, like the official U.S. Navy Facebook page and the USS Bataan Twitter account.  It is hope, compassion and determination that is most apparent in the testimonials and images coming from all participants – commanding officers to junior Sailors.

Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman (SW/AW/FMF) Brian E. Wenzel, assigned to Fleet Surgical Team 8 aboard USS Bataan shared his early impression upon the ship’s arrival in support of Operation Unified Response:

"Just winding down from our first real mass casualty; 19 patients. Many crush injuries, open fractures, head trauma and infection. We have about 6 children on board now and they are the most beautiful children, I can’t even describe the look in their eyes when they see us," said Wenzel.  "Fortunately, we have quite a few Marines and Sailors from Haiti and the communication was very good for us today. The rest of the CRTS [Crisis Response Team-Surgical] augment arrived almost minutes after this kicked off.  These folks have traveled from the west coast, had very little sleep in the airport at GITMO [Guantanamo Bay Naval Station] for two nights and endured the helicopter flight to us this morning – all on about 6 hrs of sleep and very little food. Yet not a one complained and every one of them gave 100% during this organized chaos. I can imagine they are ready to crash just about anywhere.  Man, what an effort by over a 100 people who had never worked a day in their lives together. That’s all for now. Who knows when the next ones will come."

Besides medical help, our military personnel are playing an indispensable role in making the logistics chain possible and distributing life-saving assistance.  On Jan. 21 significant steps were made by the Navy/Marine Corps team completely clearing obstructions from a major highway and establishing a location to bring supplies ashore using amphibious vehicles. 

Capt. Thomas Negus, Commander of the Bataan Amphibious Relief Mission, continues to update families and followers through constant tweets and social media updates.

"Our folks are working feverishly to find any and everyone who may need our help," said Negus.  "Access to these people remains a challenge, but we are pushing through to help those in need.  You can all take great pride in the work being done by your Navy, Marine and Coast Guard

Lt. Lesley Lykins, United States Navy

Last week we rolled out the new White House iPhone app, which you can download for free from the iTunes App Store.  It includes everything from the latest blog posts, to outstanding photos from the photo office, to White House videos – like the one below, for example, in which Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gives a slightly sillier take on our app than the initial blog post may have:

Click here to see the video.

As Gibbs explains in the video, the pride and joy of the app may be the fact that now you can watch White House live-streaming video wherever you happen to be.   For example, just today you can watch the President and the Vice President at a Middle Class Task Force meeting at 11:00 EST, even if you’re hunkered down hiding from the rain at a bus stop as a lot of people in DC are right now. At 1:00 you can watch the selfsame Robert Gibbs take on the White House press corps, even if you’re a White House reporter who decided to just stay in bed today. And at 2:20 you can watch the President welcome last season’s NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, even if you’re at a hockey game because watching your team get beat by the Lakers over and over made you look for other sports to stir your passions.