Obama: TARP funds for small business, more wanted for infrastructure, home energy refits

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Obama lays out initiative to relieve joblessness

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama outlined major new government stimulus and jobs proposals on Tuesday, saying the nation must continue to “spend our way out of this recession.”

Without giving a price tag, Obama proposed a package of new spending for highway, bridge and other infrastructure projects, deeper tax breaks for small businesses and tax incentives to encourage people to make their homes more energy efficient.

“We avoided the depression many feared,” Obama said in a speech at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. But, he added, “Our work is far from done.”

For the third time in a week, Obama sought to focus on job creation, noting that the jobless rate continues in double digits and that “a staggering” 7 million Americans have lost jobs since the recession began in December 2007.

While his proposal did not include the kind of direct federal public works jobs that were created in the 1930s, he said government could set the stage for more job creation by private businesses.

Obama did not characterize his proposals as another stimulus program, like the $787 billion version passed earlier this year, Republican critics have called it just that and have said it will increase a federal deficit that is already at a record level.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says staggering job losses mean the United States must continue to “spend our way out of this recession” with a round of new incentives for hiring.

In a speech, Obama proposed a package intended to stimulate job creation and bring down the country’s 10 percent unemployment rate. The measures include more money for infrastructure projects, tax cuts and credit access for small businesses. It also includes rebates to consumers who make their homes more energy efficient.

Obama said Tuesday it is a “false choice” to claim that the government must pick between paying down the deficit and investing in economic growth. He said spending in the short-term to create new jobs will help reduce the deficit over the long-term.