At a Cabinet meeting on Monday, President Barack Obama promised to speed federal money into hundreds of public works projects this summer, vowing that 600,000 jobs would be created or saved in the second hundred days--four times the number created or saved in the first 100 days. From the President:
"Our ultimate goal is making sure that the average family out there, mom working, dad working -- that they are able to pay their bills, feel some job security, make their mortgage payments."At the meeting, Vice President Biden presented a new summer initiative, "Roadmap to Recovery," which aims to speed up the progress of the Administration's recovery efforts. The report released today by the White House details ten of the major projects the Administration is committed to seeing through by the summer's end--projects which range from increasing health care access to airport/highway rehabilitation to natural park restoration.
100 days under the Recovery Act. Download the Roadmap here.)
From the looks of this list on the new Roadmap to Recovery website at WhiteHouse.gov, the commitments Obama and Biden intend to see to fruition encompass relatively specific numbers. (For example, the first project on the list reads "Enable 1,129 Health Centers in 50 States and Eight Territories to Provide Expanded Service to Approximately 300,000 Patients"). Locations around the country where economic stimulus package dollars are at work is visually mapped out for you as well on the new site, which is also serve as a place visitors can share their stories through comments, photos and videos.
From the beginning, the Obama administration has emphasized transparency and accountability in spending the stimulus money; promises which reflect a federal process that is designed to spend money 'carefully,' rather than just 'quickly.' However, as these spending and recovery initiatives are rolled out, one can't help but notice their resemblance to the economic recovery plan that has already been underway for several months--except in this case, it's not entirely clear what steps the White House will be to speed up the pace of stimulus spending in the coming months. Take a look at the plan yourself and let us know what you think in the comments below.
