ABC Interview - Transcript
Interview
ABC Interview - Transcript
ABC NEWS INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
SUBJECT: ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE INTERVIEWER: CHARLIE GIBSON
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MR. GIBSON: We did talk with the president about his economic stimulus plan despite his plea for bipartisan support, many Senate Republicans today said they do not feel his plan will really help the economy, and some offered their own $445 billion alternative stimulus plan, about half the cost of the president's.
So I asked the president if his proposal might be too ambitious.
You said from the get go that you wanted a very big stimulus package and you wanted it quickly.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Right.
MR. GIBSON: And so within days, an $800 plus billion dollar bill was written.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Right.
MR. GIBSON: Did haste make waste?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, I actually think that if you look at the package that came out of the House, we focused on making sure that in addition to creating jobs, we're laying the foundation for long-term economic growth, so we invest in infrastructure around new green jobs and energy, making sure that we are weatherizing homes to save on our energy bills long-term, making sure that we are investing in our health care IT system so that we can reduce costs and improve quality and reduce medical errors.
So those are all sound investments that need to be made, and I think that the package that has been put together is one that balances the need for speed; we've got to get this money out quickly in order to put people back to work and the need for us to make sure that some of this money is going to long-term investments that will make us more competitive.
MR. GIBSON: Which leads some people to say you tried to do too much with this bill too soon and not enough of it is really stimulative, and as you know, there's a lot of people in the public, a lot of members of Congress who think this is pork stuff and that it really doesn't stimulate. A lot of people have said it's a spending bill and not a stimulus bill.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Charlie, if you take a look at the bill, the fact is, there are no earmarks in this bill, which, by the way, some of the critics can't claim for legislation they voted for over the last eight years, but here's the thing that I think we have to understand. The economy is in desperate straits. What I won't do is adopt the same economic theories that helped land us in the worst economy since the Great Depression, but I want to be absolutely clear here that the overwhelming bulk of the package is sound, is designed to put people back to work, help states that are in desperate straits, help families who are losing jobs in health care and is designed to make sure that we've got green energy jobs for the future. In fact, most of the programs that have been criticized as part of this package amount to less than one percent of the overall package and it makes for good copy, but here's the thing. We can't afford to play the usual politics at a time when the economy continues to worsen.
MR. GIBSON: There are Buy American provisions in this bill, a lot of people think that could set off a trade war, cost American jobs. Do you want them out?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I want provisions that are going to be a violation of World Trade Organization agreements, or in other ways, signal protectionism. I think that would be a mistake right now. That is a potential source of trade wars that we can't afford at a time when trade is sinking all across the globe.
MR. GIBSON: What's in there now? Do you think that does that? Do you want it out?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: We need to make sure that any provisions that are in there are not going to trigger a trade war.
MR. GIBSON: You have said you want bipartisanship in this bill, you want Republican support. You didn't get any in the House and the leader of the House, the Speaker of the House said, well, yes, we wrote the bill, and yes, we won the election.
Isn't that kind of an in your face trash talking to the Republicans?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I think what Speaker Pelosi also said was that she wanted to sit down with them and talk to them, in fact, included some of their ideas in the package. Keep in mind when I first released the framework for our plan, we were complemented by the Republicans for the fact that about $300 billion of the package was in the form of tax cuts. I was criticized by members of my own party. Now, that hasn't changed much; the only thing that's changed is the politics of it and I'm less concerned about bipartisanship for bipartisanship sake. I'm interested in solving the problem for the American people as quickly as possible and I think that we have an obligation to make sure this money is spent wisely. I want this thing to move through the Senate. I want the House and the Senate bills to be reconciled. We can scrub it of any problems that are in there, but what I don't want to do is to delay creating jobs for people who are losing work, providing families some direct relief in the form of middle class tax cuts, in the form of tax breaks for small businesses and I want to make sure that we are investing this money in a way that is going to, not just people back to work right now, but will continue to pay high dividends in the future.
MR. GIBSON: The president in the Oval Office today. The economic stimulus plan in front of the Senate this week already passed by the House and the White House still hopes that the bill will be on the president's desk by President's weekend.
END.
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