Transcripts

President-Elect Barack Obama's Urgent Call About The Economy

SUSIE GHARIB: A somber warning today about the U.S. economy from President-Elect Barack Obama. He said the current recession could last for years and the unemployment rate could soar to double digits if dramatic action isn't taken as soon as possible. Obama urged Congress to quickly pass his $800 billion economic stimulus plan, which includes tax cuts and massive government spending on public works. As Darren Gersh reports, it was Obama's most eloquent and urgent call to action.

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs, more families will lose their savings, more dreams will be deferred and denied and our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that at some point, we may not be able to reverse.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The president- elect aimed that dire warning directly at Congress. Though no one on Capitol Hill is talking about stopping Mr. Obama's recovery plan, some lawmakers have suggested approval could slip to mid-February or possibly later. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is concerned about using a short-term stimulus to make long-run changes in government and he offered one suggestion for safeguarding taxpayer aid to states.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, MINORITY LEADER: We're clearly not interested in seeing money spent on mob museums and waterslides. The question is how will the money be spent? I think the way to make sure it is spent judiciously is to make it a loan.

GERSH: Obama offered a few new details of his spending plans. He pledged to double alternative energy production in three years, while also investing in a so-called smart grid for a more efficient electrical system. The plan will also computerize the nation's medical records within five years. Obama also addressed those who are skeptical government spending will stop the recession.

OBAMA: Only government can break the cycles that are crippling our economy, where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending, where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit.

GERSH: So far, the Obama outreach campaign to the nation, Republicans and fiscally conservative Democrats is paying off. Tennessee's Jim Cooper agrees urgent action is needed.

REP. JIM COOPER, (D) TENNESSEE: So I think you're going to see a responsive Congress, not necessarily a Congress that's going to roll over and play dead, but a Congress that responds to presidential leadership and gives the president substantially what he wants.

GERSH: But not all of it. Members of Congress have already raised concerns about the effectiveness of some of the tax cuts the president- elect has floated. Obama has signaled he is open to new ideas, as long as it doesn't slow down the recovery package. Darren Gersh, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.