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President Obama Town Hall Meeting; Elkhart, Indiana Has the Nation's Highest Unemployment; Obama's Economic Recovery Plan Faces a Tough Hurdle in the Senate; Obama Gives a Speech in Elkhart to Push the Stimulus Plan
Aired February 09, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, again. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here are the headlines from CNN for Monday, the 9th of February. Live pictures now from Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana. Ordinary Americans are about to question the president on the stimulus plan.
The Senate puts the stimulus bill to a test-drive today. Republican votes are needed to steer the legislation forward.
President Obama on the road making a sales pitch for that massive economic stimulus package. He arrived in Elkhart, Indiana, a little while ago for a town hall meeting. It is a city most attuned to the nation's economic crisis. The area's 15.3 percent unemployment rate leads the nation.
CNN's Dan Lothian is there now.
Dan, all of those jobs lost, are they related to the auto industry?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, here is what's to blame for the big impact on the R.V. industry. First of all, as you know, fuel prices that have just skyrocketed over the past year, in addition to that, the credit crunch. So people can't get the financing they need to buy these R.V.s. and in general, a lot of Americans are hanging on to their dollars. They're not going on vacations, so therefore, there's no need to buy these R.V.s.
What's interesting about this area, is that 75 percent of the R.V.s that are made in the country are made right here in Elkhart. So you can really see how when that industry's impacted that the people here really are going through a very, very difficult time.
I had a chance a few minutes ago to talk to the mayor, Mayor Moore. I asked him about this notion that the money, the stimulus money, would not help this city, because it really is designed for infrastructure and not for job losses in this kind of industry. He said, yes, specifically, that is true. But he said, if we can create some jobs in infrastructure, then we can get some of those folks from the R.V. industry who have a lot of different skills and transfer those skills over to infrastructure projects. He says right now they have about 17 shovel-ready projects ready to go and he says they can use that money and put it to good work.
But it really is a struggle here. And you probably hear a lot of that from the folks who came to this town hall meeting as they will be asking questions at this town hall meeting. I'm told by an Obama official that they didn't prescreen these questions, that anyone who raises their hand, the president will pick on them. They can ask any question that they wish to ask.
And by the way, Tony, 1700 people showing up here. All those tickets were handed out at various areas around this town. And they were all scooped up in about 45 minutes, Tony.
HARRIS: Well, we're starting to see some people stand and rise there, so we may be getting close. So maybe I can sneak this question in for you, Dan. This isn't Obama's first visit to Elkhart, is it?
LOTHIAN: It is not. He's been here twice before. The last time he came here was in August on the campaign trail. He came and visited. And again, the reason that he wanted to come back is because he wants to highlight an area that is really struggling through these tough economic times. And as you mentioned earlier, they've seen their unemployment rate here skyrocket from about 4.7 percent over the past year to more than 15 percent. 15.3 percent, to be exact.
So this is, when you're looking at sort of all the various cities and towns across the country that are being impacted by this negative economy, this is an area that the White House really wants to highlight and show that, listen, while Congress is up there debating whether or not they should go with the stimulus plan, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is why they need to act quickly, or more of these people losing their jobs will continue to lose their jobs.
HARRIS: Certainly. The president, during the campaign, he turned Indiana from red to blue, but he did not win Elkhart, did he?
LOTHIAN: No, he did not win this area. But nonetheless, as I was talking to the mayor, he says we're very happy now to have him here. We feel like he's part of us. He's been here, now this will be his third visit. They really want that money. They believe if they can get that money here, they can put it to good work, it can really help to start turning this economy here around.
HARRIS: Dan, thanks for doing the dance with me. I thought we were getting really close there, so we'll squeeze the picture in and keep folks posted on the arrival of the president.
Our White House Correspondent Dan Lothian for us. Dan, thanks. Appreciate it.
LOTHIAN: Thank you.
HARRIS: We also want to remind you the president holds his first prime-time news conference since taking office tonight, 8:00 eastern, and you can see it here on CNN.
A crucial test vote today for the massive economic recovery plan. If it clears that hurdle, a Senate vote on the plan itself is expected tomorrow. Then the tough job of hammering out differences between the Senate and the House bills. But back to today's vote.
Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar, live on Capitol Hill.
Brianna, I believe the debate this hour continues, correct?
BRIANNA KEILER, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, debate going to be continuing here in the next hour, Tony. And this is key, because it's going to show us if that deal that was struck on Friday night between Democrats and a few Republicans, if it's going to hold and give Democrats enough votes to move this economic stimulus package through the Senate, out of the Senate with that other vote that's expected tomorrow.
As you mentioned, after that, it's about hashing out the differences between the House side bill and the Senate bill, which is actually something already going on behind the scenes between staffers.
This isn't necessarily an easy process. Why? Well, because in the Senate, Democrats had to agree to win over those Republicans and even a couple reticent Democrats to cut spending by about $100 billion. This included $40 billion in education spending cuts. It's been a bitter pill for Democrats I the Senate to swallow. It's going to be the same for the House side.
We heard from Susan Collins, one of the three centrist Republicans who appears to be on board with this compromise plan, that if the House side throws a bunch of spending back on, she's not on board.
HARRIS: And, Brianna, you hit the road recently and went to a small town where people are sort of tired of the talking. They're ready for some action?
KEILAR: Yeah, they are. I went to Taneytown, Maryland. This is a small city close to Capitol Hill, a short drive, about an hour and a half. Like a lot of small cities and small towns, they are eyeing the stimulus, hoping to get a piece of the pie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): Taneytown, Maryland, just 70 miles from Washington, D.C. Talk to folks in this rural community, and they'll tell you it's another world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think government really realizes how bad it is out here.
KEILAR: Unemployment here is the highest it it's been in ten years. Businesses have closed, and residents are facing tax hikes to fund the city's crumbling infrastructure.
JIM MCCARRON, MAYOR OF TANEYTOWN: Our water system and our sewage system probably goes back 55, 60 years.
KEILAR: Taneytown's mayor, Jim McCarron, has a plan to help this city. He's launched an all-out lobbying effort to get a piece of the billions Washington could spend to jump-start the economy. Drawing up a list of projects that could begin within 90 days, meeting with members of Congress, talking to the governor's office.
(on camera): This is a full-course press, isn't it?
MCCARRON: It is, indeed. The old squeaky wheel theory. I've subscribed to that for many years. This is not fluff. This is not expanding the city or buying another staff car. This is stuff that affects everybody's lives and affects everybody's pocketbooks.
KEILAR (voice-over): On Mayor McCarron's $20 million to-do list, drilling a new well like this one for the city's at-capacity water system, replacing more deteriorating water pipes and building a road.
MCKAREN: This is Atrum Road. This is the extension.
KEILAR: A plan to open upland that McCarron says will bring new jobs to the area.
You would think more government spending would be a tough sell to people in this conservative stronghold, angry with the Wall Street bailout. But they see this economic rescue as Main Street's chance to get the help it needs.
MCCARRON: As long as it gets down to the lower levels, like to Taneytown and other small towns, it will be beneficial.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Economists have said this infrastructure spending money needs to go out in the next 18 months in order to really stimulate the economy.
And officials in these small towns, like Taneytown and like Elkhart, Indiana, where you saw president Obama now, they are savvy to this. For instance, in Taneytown, they're pitching a bunch of these projects, infrastructure projects, Tony, and not a single one does the spending go beyond that 18 months.
HARRIS: Interesting. Very interesting. I know that town, Taneytown in Maryland. Good people there.
Brianna Keilar for us on Capitol Hill. Brianna, thank you.
Well, he is taking it to the people. President Obama's on the road pitching his stimulus plan to voters. And a just-released poll reveals what Americans think about it and about the president.
Our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, joining us now from Washington.
Candy, great to see you. Let me start with approval rating. How was the president's approval rating holding up during the sometimes rough and tumble debate over the stimulus package?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Pretty well. Pretty well. I don't think you can argue with what we found in this poll. This is of course the CNN-opinion research corporation poll. 76 percent of Americans approve of the way that President Obama is handling his job as president.
Now, let me tell you, because these numbers tell a story. That 76 percent approval rating does not necessarily go into the stimulus bill, because only 54 percent of Americans actually support the stimulus bill that he is now pushing here in Elkhart, Tony. I don't know if you want to go to him now.
HARRIS: You just did it. Wonderful. Thank you, Candy.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Well, listen, everybody can have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable, we're going to be here a while. (LAUGHTER). It is good to be back in Elkhart. (APPLAUSE).
It is good to be back in Indiana. You know, the last event we had of the campaign was Indiana. And the first time that I'm traveling outside of the White House to talk about the economy is back in Indiana. (APPLAUSE). I want to start by thanking Ed for coming here today and sharing his family's story with all of us. Ed was terrific. Give him a big round of applause. (APPLAUSE).
There are few other special guests I want to acknowledge quickly. First of all, your own Senator, my former colleague, an outstanding legislator and public servant, former governor here in Indiana, give it up for Senator Evan Bayh. Where is Evan? There he is. (APPLAUSE). A guy you may be familiar with, your own member of Congress, Joe Donley. (APPLAUSE).
We brought a few other members of Congress here to get in on the fun. Representative baron Hill, Representative Brad Ellsworth, Representative Fred Upton, Representative Andre Carson, former Representative Tim Romer, former Representative Lee Hamilton. We've got Mayor Dick Moore of Elkhart. And we've got the new secretary of transportation, former member of Congress from my own home state of Illinois, Ray LaHood.
I don't know if you guys have been noticing, but we've had a little debate in Washington over the last week or two about the economy. And you know we tend to take the measure of the economic crisis we face in numbers and statistics. But when we say that we've lost 3.6 million jobs since this recession began, nearly 600,000 in the past month alone, when we say that this area has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in the united states of America, with an unemployment rate of over 15 percent when it was 4.7 percent just last year, when we talk about layoffs in companies like Monaco Coach and Keystone R.V. and Pilgrim International, companies that have sustained this community for years, we're not just talking numbers. We're talking about Ed. We're talking about people in the audience here today. People not just in Elkhart, but all across this country. We're talking about people who have lost their livelihood and don't know what will take its place. We're talking about parents who have lost their health care and lay awake at night playing their kids don't get sick. We're talking about families who have lost the home that was the corner, their foundation for their American dream. Young people who put that college acceptance letter back in the envelope because they just can't afford it. That's what those numbers and statistics mean. That is the true measure of this economic crisis. Those are the stories I heard when I came to Elkhart six months ago, and those are the stories that I carried with me to the White House. I have not forgotten them. and I promised you back then that if elected I'd do everything I could to help this community recover, and that's why I came back today, because I intend to keep my promise. (APPLAUSE).
I intend to keep my promise. But you know. the work is going to be hard. I don't want to lie to people. and that's why we're having a town hall meeting. Because the situation we face could not be more serious. We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression. Economists from across the spectrum have warned that if we don't act immediately, millions of more jobs will be lost. The national unemployment rates will approach double digits, not just here in Elkhart, all across the country. More people will lose their homes and their health care. And our nation will sink into a crisis that at some point we may be unable to reverse.
So we can't afford to wait. We can't wait and see and hope for the best. We can't posture and bicker and resort to the same failed ideas that got us into this mess in the first place. (APPLAUSE). That was what this election was all about. The American people rejected those ideas, because they hadn't worked. (APPLAUSE). You didn't send us to Washington because you were hoping for more of the same. You sent us there to change things. The expectation that we would act quickly and boldly to carry out change, and that's exactly what I intend to do as president of the United States of America. (APPLAUSE).
That's why I put forth a Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that is now before Congress. At its core is a very simple idea, to put Americans back to work, doing the work America needs to be done. Ed said it better than anybody could. He said, look, folks in Elkhart, they want to work. Nobody's looking for a handout. Everybody just wants to be able to get a job that supports a family. And we've got the most productive workers on earth. (APPLAUSE). We've got the best workers right here in Elkhart who are willing to put in hard time and do whatever it takes to make sure a company succeeds, but they've got to have a chance.
The plan that we've put forward will save or create three million to four million jobs over the next two years. But not just any jobs. Jobs that meet the needs we've neglected for far too long. Jobs that lay the ground for long-term economic growth. Jobs fixing our schools and computerizing our medical records to save costs and save lives. Jobs repairing our roads and our bridges and our levees. Jobs investing in renewable energy to help us move towards energy independence. (APPLAUSE).
And the plan also calls for immediate tax relief for 95 percent of American workers, so that you, who are being pinched, even if you still have a job, with rising costs while your wages and incomes are flat lined, you'll have extra money at the end of the month to buy the necessities for you and your children.
Now, I know that some of you might be thinking, well, all that sounds good. But when are we going to see any of this here in Elkhart? What does all this mean to my family? To my community? And those are exactly the kinds of questions you should be asking your president and your government. And today I want to provide some answers. And I want to be as specific as I can.
Number one, this plan will provide for extended unemployment insurance, health care and other assistance for workers and families who have lost their jobs in this recession. So if you've lost your job, for example, under existing law you can get COBRA. Some of you have heard of COBRA. But the only problem is, it's so expensive, it doesn't do you any good. (APPLAUSE). So what we've said is, what we've said is we will help subsidize people so they can at least keep their health insurance while they're out there looking for a new job. This plan will -- and what this means is, from the perspective of unemployment insurance, you will have an additional $100 per month in unemployment benefits that will go to more than 450,000 Indiana workers, extended unemployment benefits for another 89,000 folks who have been laid off and can't find work, and job training assistance to help more than 51,000 people here get back on their feet.
Now, that's not just our moral -- (APPLAUSE). That's not just our moral responsibility to lend a helping hand to our fellow Americans at a time of emergency. It makes good economic sense. If you don't have money, you can't spend it. And if you don't spend it, our economy will continue to decline.
Now, for that same reason, the plan includes badly-need tax relief for middle class workers and families. (APPLAUSE). Folks all across the country, we need to give you more of the money you've earned so that you can spend it and pay your bills. Under our plan, families, working families will get $1,000, providing relief for nearly 2.5 million workers and their families here in Indiana. The plan will also provide a partially-refundable $2500 per student tax credit to help 76,000 Hoosier families send their kids to college. (APPLAUSE). This will benefit your household budgets in the short run, and will benefit America in the long run.
But providing tax relief and college assistance and helping folks who have lost their jobs, that's not enough. A real recovery plan helps create more jobs and put people back to work. And that's why between the investments our plan makes and the tax relief for small businesses it provides, we'll create or save nearly 80,000 badly-need jobs for Indiana, right here over the next couple of years.
Now, you may have heard some of the critics of our plan say it would create mostly government jobs. That is not true. 90 percent, more than 90 percent of the jobs created under this recovery act will be in the private sector, more than 90 percent. (APPLAUSE).
But it's not just the jobs that will benefit Indiana and the rest of America, it's the work people will be doing, rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our dams, our levees. Roads like U.S. 31 here in Indiana that Hoosiers can count on. (APPLAUSE). That connect small towns and rural communities to opportunities for economic growth. I know a new overpass downtown would make a big difference for businesses and families right here in Elkhart. (APPLAUSE). We'll also put people to work rebuilding our schools. This school is a terrific school, but I know there's work to be done here. We should do it so that all our children can have the world class classrooms. The labs, the libraries that they need in order to compete in today's global economy. (APPLAUSE).
We should be investing in clean alternative sources of energy. We should be investing in the electric grid we need to transport this new energy from coast to coast. So if you build a windmill here in Indiana and it generates energy, that energy can get to Chicago and can get to St. Louis and can get to other places all across the country. (APPLAUSE). we can help make Indiana an energy-producing state, not just an energy-consuming state. (APPLAUSE).
The plan calls for weatherizing homes across Indiana, installing state-of-the-art equipment that help you control your energy costs, building new high-speed broadband lines, reaching schools and small businesses in rural Indiana so they can connect and compete with their counterparts in any city of any country in the world. (APPLAUSE).
Those are the kinds of projects that we're looking at that put people to work that allow us to train people for jobs that pay a living wage and that end up being a gift that keeps on giving, because not only are we creating jobs now, but we're creating the infrastructure for the jobs of the future.
Now, let me be clear. I'm not going to tell you that this bill is perfect. It's coming out of Washington. it's going through Congress. (LAUGHTER).
You know, look, it's not perfect. But it is the right size, it is the right scope, broadly-speaking, it has the right priorities to create jobs that will jump start our economy and transform this economy for the 21st industry.
I -- I can't tell you with 100 percent certainty that every single item in this plan will work exactly as we hoped. But what I can tell you is, I can say with complete confidence that endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will only bring deepening disaster. I can tell you that doing nothing is not an option. (APPLAUSE).
So we've had a good debate. Now it's time to act. That's why I'm calling on Congress to pass this bill immediately. Folks here in Elkhart and all across America need help right now. They can't afford to keep waiting for folks in Washington to get this done.
Even with this plan, the road ahead won't be easy. This crisis has been a long time in the making. We're not going to turn it around overnight. Recovery will likely be measured in years, not weeks or months. But we also know that our economy will be stronger for generations to come if we commit ourselves to the work that needs to be done. Commit ourselves today to the work that needs to be done.
And being here in Elkhart, I am more confident than ever that we will get where we need to be, because I know people are struggling, but I also know that folks here are good workers and good neighbors who step up, who help each other out, who make sacrifices when times are tough. (APPLAUSE). I know that all folks here are asking for is a chance to work hard, and to have that work translate into a decent life for you and your family. So I know you're going to be doing your part.
I think it's about time that government did its part too. (APPLAUSE). That's what this recovery plan's all about. That's why I hope it passes as soon as possible so we can start creating jobs and helping families and turning our economy around. Thank you, Elkhart. Thank you. (APPLAUSE). Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right.
We're going to take questions. All right. Just want to make sure my mike's working here. Here's the deal on questions. First of all, we didn't screen anybody. So there's some people who like me in the audience, some people that don't. Some people agree with me, some people who don't. It doesn't matter. We want to take questions from everybody.
Here's the only thing I've got to ask, though. I would ask that everybody raise their hand, not -- not right now. People who have a question raise your hand. We're going to try to call on people. I'm going to try to go around the room. We may not get to every single question, so don't be mad at me. We've got a lot of people here. We've got about 35 minutes, 40 minutes, so I'm going to try to get as many questions as possible, which means try to keep your question relatively succinct and I will try to keep my answer relatively succinct. We've got young people in the audience who have microphones, so wait until the microphone gets to you. And if you can introduce yourself, that will be helpful. And the last thing I'm going to do is go girl, boy, girl, boy, so nobody gets mad at me.
All right? This young lady right here. She's number one. Right here.
HELEN CASTELLO, ELKHART RESIDENT: Thank you, President Obama. We welcome you to Elkhart with our whole heart.
OBAMA: Thank you.
CASTELLO: And we're just -- we're so grateful that you've come here today.
OBAMA: Thank you.
CASTELLO: My question to you is, sir, when you allocate the money for Elkhart, Indiana, will it come directly into Elkhart, or where -- is it going to have to go around somewhere else?
OBAMA: Well, first of all, what's your name?
CASTELLO: My name is Helen Castello.
OBAMA: Thank you, Helen. It's a good question. Look, we've got to get the bill passed, but we also have to make sure that the money is well spent, which means we're doing some thing that's are unprecedented to make sure that the money gets out quickly, but it gets out wisely. We're going to set up an independent board made of Democrats and Republicans to review how the money is being spent. Because we've got to make sure that it's not being wasted on somebody's special project that may not actually create help for people. So that's point number one.
Point number two is, we're actually going to set up something called recovery.gov. This is going to be a special website that we set up that gives you a report on where the money's going in your community, how it's being spent, how many jobs it's being created so that all of you can be the eyes and ears. And if you see that a project is not working the way it's supposed to, you'll be able to get on that website and say, you know, I thought this was supposed to be going to school construction, but all -- I haven't noticed any changes being made. And that will help us track how this money's being spent.
Now, in terms of how it's -- how it's being utilized, and who it's going to, it's probably going to depend on different aspects of the plan. Some of the plan will go to the state government. Because, for example, unemployment -- well, let me give you an example. Unemployment insurance is run through the state, not run through a city. And so that part of the plan will be going through the state. There are going to be other projects having to do with transportation, for example, in which we may be working directly with local municipalities and communities, as well as the state government, to make sure that the project is well-planned. And that's why we've got Secretary LaHood here, because he's going to be working with the local communities.
Same is true on education funding. We may be working directly with the school superintendent, who I know is here, to figure out where are the schools that are in most need of help and where we can right away get some construction going and get some improvements going. So it will probably depend on what -- what stream of money we're talking about. But the key is, we're going to have strong oversight and strong transparency to make sure that this money is well spent.
And, listen. I know that there are a lot of folks out there who have been saying, oh, this is pork and this is money that's going to be wasted and, et cetera, et cetera. Understand, this bill does not have a single earmark in it, which is unprecedented for a bill of this size. Does not have a single earmark in it.
So we may -- we may debate, we can debate, you know, whether you'd rather have this tax cut versus that tax cut, or this project versus that project. Be clear, though, that there aren't individual pork projects that members of Congress are putting into this bill. Regardless of what the critics say, there are no earmarks in this bill. That's part of the change that we're bringing to Washington, is making sure that this money is well spent to actually create jobs right here in Elkhart.
All right? OK.
Gentleman up there, all the way at the top. You. That's right. But hold on a second. Let's get a mike to him. All right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. I also want to just be very thrilled to be in the presence of you because we've been looking for a change. We are truly tired of the economics that we have been getting that has got us into the position that we're in. That theory has been a trickle down. We need to trickle up. So I would hope in your philosophy of trying to kick start the economy, that the money is directed to the people who are -- have homes that are foreclosed. The people that have lost jobs. To try to give it to a bank and give a low interest rate and the person whose home is being foreclosed on don't have a job, don't help anybody. It's a sale that nobody can take advantage of because you ain't got no money.
So I would hope, and I pray, that you would support the people who got you into the office. We the people, not the fat cat. We the people. To whereas the money is directly into the hands of the people who are hurting, to where we don't have to worry about going to the state, going to the federal government, standing in line somewhere, send that check to our mailbox. Amen. Amen.
OBAMA: Let me respond.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we can take it to the bank and pay that mortgage. Thank you.
OBAMA: Let me -- can everybody hear me? Testing. Hello, hello, hello? Can you hear me now? Hold on a second. Testing, testing. How's that? All right.
The -- well, let me respond in a couple of ways.
Number one, when it comes to tax cuts, you are exactly right. That instead of providing tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, what I've been pushing in this plan is to make sure that the tax cuts goes to working families. That is not only good for those families, it's actually good for the economy because when you give a tax break to working families who are struggling, they will spend it on buying a new coat for the kids or making sure that, you know, they get that car repaired to get -- that they use to get to work. When you give it to the wealthier families, they just put it away somewhere. And so it doesn't circulate into the economy. So tax cuts targeted to working families are the most effective means of stimulus that we can provide to the economy.
Now, you're making another point, though, that has to do with a separate part of what we're going to need to get this economy moving again, and that has to do with the financial system and the banking system. And I just want to be clear that the Recovery and Reinvestment Act that is before Congress right now is just one leg in the stool of recovery. The other thing that we've got to get done is, we've got to get the banks stable and lending again.
Part of what's happened in terms of the RV industry, for example, I was talking to Congressman Donnelly about this, is basically people who want to buy an RV can't get financing right now, even if they've got good credit. So what we're going to be trying to do is to set up a whole new mechanism for helping people get consumer credit. We're going to help small businesses and medium size businesses get credit.
And instead of just pumping that money directly into Wall Street, we're going to make sure that a lot of that money's going directly to consumers. And the money that does go into Wall Street is going to come with strings attached. You cannot -- you cannot expect taxpayers to bail out banks that have made bad decisions when they are then using their money to give themselves huge bonuses.
So one of the things that we've said is, look, we understand that the banking system is fragile right now. And even though those folks made bad decisions, it could bring down the entire economy and affect towns like Elkhart. So we're going to do something to strengthen the banking system.
But, you know, you are not going to be able to give out these big bonuses until you pay taxpayers back. You can't get corporate jets. You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime. There's got to be some accountability and some responsibility. And that's something that I intend to impose as president of the United States.
Right there. All right. Young lady right here. Right here. In the striped sweater.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Tara (ph). You've come to our county and asked us to trust you. But those that you have appointed to your cabinet are not trustworthy and can't handle their own budget and taxes (ph).
OBAMA: No, no, this is a legitimate -- this is a legitimate question. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm one of those that thinks you need to (INAUDIBLE) Sean Hannity. So tell me why, from my side, we can understand (INAUDIBLE).
OBAMA: No, that's OK. That's OK. No, no, look, I think this is a perfectly legitimate question.
First of all, I appoint -- I've appointed hundreds of people. All of whom are outstanding Americans who are doing a great job. There are a couple who had problems before they came into my administration in terms of -- in terms of their taxes. Look, no -- the -- and I think that this is a legitimate criticism that people have made, because you can't expect one set of folks to not pay their taxes when everybody else is paying theirs. So I think that's a legitimate concern.
I will tell you that the individuals at issue here, I know them personally, and I think these were honest mistakes. And I made sure they were honest mistakes beforehand. And one of the things I've discovered is, if you're not going to appoint anybody who's ever made a mistake in your life, then you're not going to have anybody taking your jobs.
So -- but -- but having said that, what I did acknowledge, and I said it publicly on just about every TV station, is something that you probably, you know, sometimes don't hear from politicians, which is, I made a mistake. And that because I don't want to send the signal that there are two sets of rules.
Now, understand, though, I think something that should also be mentioned is that we've set up an unprecedented set of ethics rules in my White House where we are not -- we are not -- everybody will acknowledge that we have set up the highest standard ever for lobbyists not working in the administration. People who work in my administration aren't going to be able to go out the revolving door and start working for some lobbying firm and lobbying the White House. Republicans and Democrats have acknowledged that this is a very high bar that we've set for ourselves. We have not been perfect, but we are changing the culture in Washington and it's going to take some time.
Now with respect to Sean Hannity, I didn't know that he had invited me for a beer. You know, but -- I will take that under advisement. Generally, his opinion of me does not seem to be very high, but I'm always good for a beer. So, all right.
Let me -- let me get this side of the room and then I'll come back in. I want to make sure I'm not looking too biased on one side here. That gentleman right up there in the corner there. You. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, President Obama. It's -- like everybody else has said, it's an honor to be here. My name is Jason Ward (ph) and I'm a local attorney here in town, but I've seen a lot of the effects that the manufacturing industries had here. And there's been a lot of discussion with respect to green jobs and environmental issues. And this area has been one of the areas that's been mentioned about maybe retooling to take advantage of the green revolution. And I guess the question is, with respect to the stimulus bill, are the provisions in there that address green job issues, improvement of environmental issues and those type of matters?
OBAMA: Absolutely. Yes, it's a great question. And let me describe for you just some of the things that we have in there.
Under this plan, we would double the production of alternative energy. Double it from where it is right now. So that's point number one.
Point number two -- point number two, there is money allocated in this plan to develop the new battery technologies that will allow, not just cars, but potentially RVs as well, to be -- to move into the next generation of plug-in hybrids that get much better gas mileage, that will wean ourselves off the dependence on Middle Eastern oil and we'll improve our environment and lessen the potential effects of greenhouse gases and climate change.
We also have put in money that provide for the weatherization of millions of homes across the country. Now, this is an example of where you get a multiplier effect. If you allocate money to weatherize homes, the homeowner gets the benefit of lower energy bills. You right away put people back to work, many of whom in the construction industry and in the housing industry are out of work right now, they are immediately put to work doing something. You can train young people as apprentices to start getting training in home construction through weatherization. And you start reducing energy costs for the nation as a whole. So there are -- there are billions of dollars in this plan allocated for moving us towards a new energy future.
Now, I'll be honest with you, some of the critics of the plan have said that's pork. I don't understand their criticism. Their basic argument is, well, that's -- you're trying to make policy instead of just doing short-term stimulus. Well, my whole attitude is, if we're going to spend billions of dollars to create jobs anyway, then why wouldn't we want to create jobs in things like clean energy that create a better economic future for us over the long-term? That just -- that's common sense to me. That's common sense to me.
And that is especially important for the Midwest because if you think about it, the auto industry, RV industry, transportation industry is so important to us here in the Midwest, if we don't use this crisis as an opportunity to start retooling, then we will never catch up and be able to compete effectively against Japanese automakers, Korean automakers, and we will find ourselves continuing to slide. This should be an opportunity for us to retool. And so, you know, I am going to make this a big priority over the next few days as we're trying to reconcile the House and the Senate bill, getting folks in Congress to understand that this is one of the best possible investments that we can make.
Let me give you another example of long-term investments that are in this plan.
I've been criticized because I suggested that as part of this plan we should improve information technology in the health care system. Now, here is the reason that I want to do it. Not only will it immediately create jobs in the health care industry, as well as in information technologies, people who are programmers, people who are information systems specialists, but it will also put everybody's medical records in a computerized form that will reduce medical errors and cut down the costs of health care over the long-term.
One of our biggest problems is that health care costs keep on going up, even when everything else is going down. You know that in your own lives. The average family premium has doubled over the last eight years, even though your wages and your incomes haven't doubled. If we keep on going down that path, health care is going to gobble up everything.
So what I've said is, look, if we're going to be spending money anyway creating jobs, why not create jobs getting these medical records set up in a way that drives down health care costs over the long-term? Some of my critics have said, that's social policy. That's not stimulus.
Look, doesn't it make sense if we're going to spend this money to solve some big problems that have been around for decades? That's what we're trying to do. That's what's in this package. And that's why I hope Congress supports it. All right. It's -- it's a young lady's turn. This young lady right here. All right. Hold on one second. Let's get a mike to you so everybody can here you. We got a mike?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Kathy Whitaker (ph) from South Bend. And I work as a foreclosure intervention counselor. And there is a bill pending that indicates that they're trying to get the authority for judges to go in and mandate a change in those mortgages. Do you think that's something that will pass?
OBAMA: Let me talk to you about the housing foreclosure issue, because this was raised by this gentleman as well.
We have to give homeowners some help and some relief. You've got home foreclosures that have gone up astronomically during this recession, during this downturn. It is both a cause and effect of the downturn. If we don't do anything about stabilizing the housing market, it is going to be much more difficult for us to recover.
So we are going to be unveiling a series of plans to help not only homeowners who are at the brink of foreclosure, but there are a lot of homeowners who are making their mortgage payments every day, but they've seen the value of their homes decline so badly that now their mortgage is more than the value of their home, which means that even when interest rates are low, it's very hard to refinance your home to take advantage of those low rates because a bank will say, well, you actually owe more than the home is worth. So we're going to be doing a lot of work on this.
Now, one potential provision that has been discussed that I am supportive of, but is not in this package, it will be on a separate package, is the idea that right now, if you have a second home or a third home or a fourth home or a fifth home, and -- and you go bankrupt, then the judge can modify the terms of your mortgage on your second, third, fourth, fifth home. So if you're worth $100 billion, you bought all these houses, and suddenly you went bankrupt, you would still be able to protect your second, third, fourth, fifth home.
But if you are like most people, including me, and you got one house -- now, keep in mind, the house I'm in, in D.C., I'm just borrowing that. That's the people's house. So I'm just -- I'm a guest in Washington in the people's house. My house is on the south side of Chicago that I own. But if you just have one house, it turns out that under current law, you can't modify that mortgage if you are in bankruptcy. And if you just can't make the payments, the judge is not authorized to modify that -- that loan so that -- let's say the banks have to take a little bit less, but you are still making some payments.
Now, that makes no sense. What that's doing is, is it's forcing a lot of people into foreclosure who potentially would be better off and the bank would be better off and the community would be better off if they're at least making some payments but they're not able to make all the payments necessary.
So this is a piece of legislation that I strongly support. We're going to try to make that part of our housing package so that -- remember I said this recovery package and reinvestment package is just one leg of the stool. We've got to deal with the credit crisis. We've got to deal with housing. There are a whole bunch of other steps that we're going to have to take, and this is one of them.
All right?
The gentlemen right back here in the tie here. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, President Obama. I'm Bill Keith (ph) from Sunrise Solar. I manufacture a solar-powered attic fan right here in Indiana.
OBAMA: Excellent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Believe me, a lot of people encouraged me to go to China years ago to manufacture my product so I could live a little higher on the hog, and I decided to keep my friends and neighbors employed and make it right here.
OBAMA: That's right. Excellent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I wanted you to know that we've got people in this row, Eric, Laura, Terry, Denise, Jesse Carbanda (ph) up in the balcony, and Gary Frymuller (ph), and these are people we're running dream companies right now that are employing American people on our soil and keeping jobs here. What we need is a little more friendly environment from the utility companies. So if I want to put a solar system on my house, I can get more than nine cents on the dollar for the electric I feed back into it.
OBAMA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some legislation like that would be helpful. And what my stance has been has -- if the federal government mandates that the utility companies have to produce at least so much renewable energy, then all of our rates are going to go up. So I've been trying to encourage my own state to be more proactive and adopt a renewable energy standard -- renewable electric standard on their own.
What do you see in the pipeline for companies like mine? Because it's hard. I don't get any tax, you know -- those of you out there that think that the prior administration or someone gave us some kind of benefits for being a green company here, there are none. I mean, there's no real incentive for us to do what we're doing. So we're doing it out of passion right now. So we appreciate all that you're saying about renewables.
OBAMA: Good. Well, let me -- three things that we can do. Just very specific and we can do them quickly. And then there's a fourth thing that we can do that will take a little bit more time.
Number one is that we need to pass a renewable energy standard. And what that does is -- just for people who aren't sort of experts in the field, it's pretty simple. What it says is, to the various utilities, it says, you need to get 15 percent or 20 percent of your energy from renewable sources. And once you set that benchmark, then what happens is, is that people who are producing renewable energy, solar or wind or hydrothermal, what they're able to do then is count on a pretty solid market that they're going to be able to sell their energy to.
And that means investors then will say, you know what, this is actually a pretty good thing for us to invest in. And, over time, what that means is, is that more and more people invest in renewable energy, which means the technology gets better, the research and development improves and you start growing that sector. So a renewable energy standard is very important. That's point number one.
Point number two is, we should be providing tax credits and loan guarantees to renewable energy. That -- there are some in place currently that have -- are on the verge of lapsing. And we have to act much more forcefully in terms of making sure that those are in place. That's the second thing.
The third thing that we should be doing is working with utilities all across America, including here in Indiana, to do what some utilities are already doing in California. And this is a really smart thing. What they do is, the utility is able to make money, not just on how much energy it sells, but it's also able to make money on how much energy its customers save. So you can structure how they charge your electricity bill so that if you started installing a solar panel, that you would actually, as you point out, be able to sell some of that energy back when you're not using it, you get to put some money in your pocket and the utilities are rewarded for encouraging you to do that. Right now they don't have enough incentive to do it because they're making money the more energy you use. Whereas what we want to do is make -- give them incentives so that they're constantly telling you how you can save energy.
The fourth thing, and this is the thing that's going to take a little bit longer, is we've got to improve basic science, research and development. When it comes to solar, when it comes to wind, the price has gone down. But generally speaking, it's still a little more expensive than fossil fuels -- coal, natural gas and so forth.
So we've got to improve the technology. And that's why I want to make sure that we're investing some money every year in the development of new energy technologies that will drive those costs down over the long-term. The country that figures out how to make cheaper energy that's also clean, that country is going to win the economic competition of the future. And I want that to be the United States of America. That's one of my commitments as president of the United States.
All right. All right. This part of the room's been kind of neglected here. Let's get that young lady right there. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. President. My name's Erin Mendoza (ph) and I kind of had a question that went along with the gentleman over there. What are you going to do about enticing companies to stay here in the United States once we have them? A lot of local companies have gone overseas, you know, since I was born, sorry. And the economy here in Elkhart was at a high and is going down because companies are enticed to leave. So, like the gentleman said, they can live higher on the hog.
