President-elect Barack Obama said his plan to save the U.S. economy will create three million new jobs for Americans, many of them building solar panels, wind turbines and fuel-efficient vehicles.
But a proposal to cut billions in taxes drew fire from Democratic senators, who said the cuts would do little to kick-start the economy or create jobs. Senators also attacked a proposed $3,000 tax credit for business to keep or hire new workers.
"If I'm a business person, it's unlikely if you give me a several-thousand-dollar credit that I'm going to hire people if I can't sell the products they're producing," said Sen. Kent Conrad.
"That to me is just misdirected."
Meanwhile, Sen. John Kerry said that he'd rather spend "the money on the infrastructure, on direct investment, on energy conversion, on other kinds of things that much more directly, much more rapidly and much more certainly create a real job."
Obama said his stimulus plan -- expected to cost US$800 billion -- will address the foreclosure crisis, modernize classrooms and invest in health care and infrastructure projects to jolt the struggling economy back to life.
It will also ensure that within several years all medical records in the U.S. will be computerized and that the production of alternative energy will be doubled, Obama said, speaking at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia on Thursday.
But it's expected that $300 billion of the package would go to cutting personal and business taxes, like a $500 reduction for workers and a $1,000 deduction for couples.
Still, the overwhelming majority of the jobs created under his plan will be in the private sector, but vital public sector jobs will also be preserved, Obama said.
It was Obama's first economic speech since winning the presidential election.
He said only government can lift the economy out of the "deep and severe" recession currently afflicting the U.S., and warned that failure by Congress to pass the plan quickly, could have dire consequences.
Obama said the recession could drag on for years and unemployment could reach double digits, if bold action doesn't happen now.
"Our nation could lose the competitive edge that has served as a foundation for our strength and our standing in the world. In short a bad situation could become dramatically worse," Obama said.
He called on Congress to put partisanship aside and "act boldly and act now to reverse these cycles" -- and to pass his stimulus plan within a few weeks.
"He's urging urgent action, fast action, and he's making his case to the American public and to Congress to pass a very big and bold stimulus package," said CTV's Joy Malbon, reporting from Washington.
Most of the content of the speech had been previously announced and there were few new details, Malbon said.
With files from The Associated Press
