US Congress reaches deal on economic stimulus

August 18th, 2009 Cantor: Stimulus not working as well as advertisedWASHINGTON — A member of the House Republican leadership says he doesn't think the $787 billion economic stimulus program the Obama administration pushed through Congress earlier this year has worked as advertised. House GOP Whip Eric Cantor of Richmond said Tuesday that no one should be touting the benefits of stimulus — as Vice President Joe Biden has — at a time when national unemployment is at 9.4 percent.

August 9th, 2009 GOP leader says no more stimulus spending neededWASHINGTON —The Senate's Republican leader says the economy doesn't need any more stimulus spending and the Obama administration should turn its attention toward dealing with the national debt. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says he hopes the economy is starting to turn around.

July 8th, 2009 L'AQUILA, Italy — The White House says it's not quite time for industrialized nations to pull the plug on economic stimulus efforts. Economic adviser Mike Froman said Wednesday that world leaders gathered at a G-8 summit in Italy will seek a balance between continuing to stimulate sluggish economies and looking for exit strategies.

June 23rd, 2009 Obama: No new stimulus needed, but quicker resultsWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he is not ready to offer a second stimulus plan even though the economy continues to struggle. The president said Tuesday that more time is needed to assess the effectiveness of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan enacted early this year.

June 8th, 2009 White House defends optimistic stimulus modelWASHINGTON — The White House is defending the overly optimistic economic models it used to justify the historic stimulus plan. Four months after the stimulus was passed, unemployment is far higher than expected and continuing to rise.

May 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Main points of the prime minister's 100-day action plan: - Fresh stimulus to economy, put it on 9-10 percent growth trajectory - Tackle job losses especially in textile and diamond sectors - Emphasis on welfare policies in social sector - Prepare blueprint to carry out Congress party's manifesto promises - Modernise both security and intelligence mechanisms.

April 22nd, 2009 Interior announces $750M to restore national parksWASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says $750 million in economic stimulus money will go to restore and repair national parks, including $30 million to fix the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. Other projects announced Wednesday include $26 million to repair buildings and a seawall at New York's Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants first entered the country; $5 million to refurbish Philadelphia's Independence Hall; and $54.7 million for dam removal and others projects at Olympic National Park in Washington state.

March 5th, 2009 TOKYO - The Japanese market extended gains Thursday as optimism spread that China's economic stimulus measures may help the world economy to recover. After the National People's Congress, the nominal parliament of the ruling Communist Party of China, opened Thursday in Beijing, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 142.53 points, or 1.95 percent, to close at 7,433.49.

February 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Wall Street rose as the US Congress reached an agreement on an economic stimulus plan of tax cuts and spending designed to pull the country out of its worst recession in decades. The leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives ironed out differences in separate versions of the stimulus bill and knocked the total price tag down to $789 billion.

February 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Between 64 and 76 percent Americans approve of the job Barack Obama's doing as president, but the economic stimulus package he's trying to push through Congress is not nearly as popular, three new opinion polls suggest. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday said 76 percent of those questioned give Obama a thumbs-up when it comes to the way he's performing his duties, with 23 percent disapproving of the way he is handling his job as president.

February 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Senate spent much of Saturday debating the economic stimulus package on which lawmakers had reached a compromise a day earlier in a bid to pull the United States out of recession. A bipartisan group of senators put forward a tentative deal late Friday on a $780-billion recovery plan.

February 4th, 2009 BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON - The European Union (EU) Wednesday applauded US President Barack Obama for warning against protectionist measures in the midst of a global economic crisis. Obama, in interviews with US television networks Tuesday night, said he was worried about the US Congress sending signals that could trigger a trade war between the US, the EU and other countries.

January 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives has approved President Barack Obama's $819 billion economic stimulus plan containing emergency spending and tax cuts. The House measure, which was approved Wednesday, combines roughly $275 billion in temporary tax cuts for both individuals and businesses along with about $544 billion for job-creating investment projects, health industry improvements, expanded aid for the poor and unemployed, and improving education.

January 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Democrats in the US House of Representatives Thursday introduced an $825-billion economic stimulus plan that president-elect Barack Obama hopes will help revive the struggling economy. The bill would provide for $550 billion in job-creating investments over two years and $275 billion in tax relief, media reports said.

January 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US president-elect Barack Obama Thursday unveiled details of his economic stimulus plan aimed at lifting the US economy out of a deepening recession, and urged the Congress to approve the plan as soon as possible.