US President Barack Obama on Friday vowed strict oversight of his $787 billion stimulus plan, pushing back against Republicans who have labelled the centrepiece of his economic agenda fiscally irresponsible. Obama said he would name a team of managers to ensure that billions of dollars slated to go toward infrastructure projects would be spent wisely.
"The American people are watching. They need this plan to work," Obama said at a gathering at the White House with dozens of the nation''s mayors. "And they expect to see the money they worked so hard to earn spent in its intended purpose without waste, inefficiency, or fraud."
After taking office last month amid a deepening recession, Obama put as his top priority passage of the stimulus plan. He has said the measure was needed to jump-start growth and prevent the unemployment rate from surging into the double digits. The signing this week of the bill - one of the most expensive in history - marked a big victory for Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress.
But Republicans, most of whom refused to support the stimulus plans, criticised the bill as laden with wasteful spending that they said would do little to revive the economy. Obama has rejected that characterisation. In addition to the infrastructure spending, the bill includes tax cuts and spending to bolster social safety net programs like unemployment insurance.
At the event with the mayors, Obama said the stimulus plan would not only create jobs, it would also put the economy on a sounder footing in the long term through spending on critical infrastructure such as roads and bridges, mass transit and the expansion of broadband networks. He also emphasised his intent to prevent any wasteful uses of the money.
"If a federal agency proposes a project that will waste that money, I will not hesitate to call them out on it, and put a stop to it," Obama said. "I want everyone here to be on notice that if a local government does the same, I will call them out on it as well, and use the full power of my office and our administration to stop it," he added.
After calling for economic help from the federal government for more than a year, mayors from both political parties are among the strongest supporters of Obama''s fiscal stimulus package. Obama''s pledge to spend the stimulus money efficiently comes ahead of events planned next week in which he and his aides will emphasise their commitment to rein in the budget deficit, which private economists say will likely balloon to around $1.5 trillion this year. On Monday, he is hosting lawmakers, economists and representatives of business and labour groups at the White House for a "Fiscal Responsibility Summit."
At the fiscal summit, which will be attended by top Democrats as well as leading Republicans, Obama is expected to underscore his commitment to tackle long-term budget challenges, such as the cost of health and retirement entitlement programs.
The White House is expected to unveil its budget proposal on Thursday. "The president felt that we have to start doing this now. For too long, there has been an irresponsibility among people in the Beltway who were unwilling to make the tough choices," said Kenneth Baer, a spokesman for the White House budget office. "This will be the beginning of that process," Baer said.
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