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Obama urges second stimulus after bailout passes |
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By Sam Youngman
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Posted: 10/03/08 04:41 PM [ET] |
Shortly after President Bush signed the financial rescue package into law, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called for a second economic stimulus passage, saying it was "an emergency plan for the middle class."
Obama called on the administration to use its new authority wisely, insisted the House's passage of the bill was not a "cause for celebration" and urged Congress to act on a second stimulus package.
“I call on Congress to pass an emergency plan for the middle class that will help folks cope with rising food and gas prices, save 1 million jobs by rebuilding our schools and roads, and help states and cities avoid budget cuts and tax increases," Obama said in a statement. "It’s a plan that should extend expiring unemployment benefits for those Americans who’ve lost their jobs and cannot find new ones."
Obama tied the Wall Street bailout to the disappointing jobs report that came out of the Labor Department Friday morning, a report he highlighted throughout the day on the campaign trail.
“This is not a moment for celebration, but a sobering day when we found out that three-quarters of a million jobs were lost just this year," Obama said. "Passing this rescue plan cannot be the end of our work to strengthen our economy — it must be the beginning."
Like Bush did earlier, Obama praised the bipartisan efforts to head off "economic catastrophe," specifically thanking "the House Democrats I personally spoke with who supported this rescue plan."
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