Washington
10 February 2009
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President Obama's News Conference |
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For the second straight day and less than a day after his first presidential news conference, President Barack Obama has traveled the
United States, trying to build public support for his economic stimulus
proposal. This
time, he spoke and took questions from a crowd in Fort Myers, Florida -
a city with the nation's highest rate of home loan foreclosures.
"We
know that in order to address our economic crisis, we are going to have
to help homeowners, not just banks, but the homeowners as well," he
said.
President Obama said he will unveil an overall housing
strategy in the next few weeks. But he's already looking at ways to
help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
As the president spoke in
Florida, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the economic stimulus
plan. The legislation will go to a committee which will work out
differences with the recovery plan that passed the House of
Representatives in January. The resulting bill will go to the
president for his signature.
"We have had a good debate. That
is part of what democracy is all about," he said. "But the time for
talk is over. Folks here in Fort Myers and across America - they need
help; they need action and they need it now."
Mr. Obama was
introduced in Fort Myers by Charlie Crist, the popular Governor of
Florida, who is one of few nationally-known Republican politicians to
endorse the president's economic recovery plan.
"This is not about partisan politics; this is about rising above that, helping America and reigniting our economy," he said.
On
Monday, the president addressed a community meeting in Elkhart,
Indiana, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the
nation. Later in the week, he will visit a factory in Peoria,
Illinois, where workers are facing job cuts.