THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

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EMBARGOED UNTIL SPEECH DELIVERY
December 8, 2009

President Obama Announces Proposals to

Accelerate Job Growth and Lay the Foundation
for Robust Economic Growth

Today, the President laid out some of the broad

steps that he believes should be at the heart of our
efforts to help put Americans back to work and get
businesses hiring again. This announcement is part
of the President’s ongoing effort to take every
responsible step to accelerate the pace of job
growth. The President views every bill through the
prism of job growth and will continue to explore
additional approaches as well. These measures are
part of the overall policy designed to not just create
jobs in the short run but also shift America away
from consumption-driven growth to a focus on
enhancing the competitiveness of America’s
businesses, encouraging investment, and promoting
exports.

The bold and difficult steps the President took to

stabilize the financial system have reduced the cost
of TARP by more than $200 billion, providing
additional resources for job creation and for deficit
reduction.

I. THREE KEY AREAS FOR ACCELERATING JOB

 GROWTH

1. Helping Small Businesses Expand

Investment, Hire Workers and Access Credit

· Tax cuts to support additional business

investment next year – with a particular focus on
struggling small businesses – with much of the
cost recouped over time.

· Zero capital gains for small businesses: To

encourage investment by small businesses
and improve their access to capital, the
Administration is calling for a one-year
elimination of the tax on capital gains from
new investments in small business stock.
The Recovery Act allowed a 75% exclusion
from capital gains taxes on small business
investments.

· Extension of enhanced expensing

provisions for small businesses: The
Administration is also calling for the
extension through 2010 of the Recovery Act
provision that allows small businesses to
immediately expense up to $250,000 of
qualified investment.

· Extension of Recovery Act bonus

depreciation tax incentive: To give
businesses an incentive to invest, the
Administration is calling for extending the
Recovery Act provision that accelerates the
rate at which business can deduct the cost
 of capital expenditures. This provision will
put more than $20 billion in the hands of
businesses in 2010, while enabling Treasury
to recoup much of the funding as business
regain their strength.

· A new tax cut for small businesses to encourage

hiring in 2010. Although the economy is now
growing again, many businesses remain reluctant
to hire. In this economic environment, an
employment tax cut for small businesses has the
potential to accelerate the pace of hiring. The
Administration believes it is important to provide
a short-term tax incentive to encourage small
business hiring and support employment, and will
work with Congress to design a provision that
accomplishes these goals.

· Eliminating fees and increasing guarantees for

small businesses that borrow through major SBA
programs in 2010. The President called for the
elimination of fees and an increase in guarantees
for loans through the Small Business
Administration, a measure that extends provisions
in the Recovery Act through the end of 2010. In
addition, the President called for continued
Treasury efforts to use the TARP to support small
business lending.

2. Investing in America’s Roads, Bridges and

Infrastructure

· Additional investment in highways, transit, rail,

aviation and water. The President is calling for
 new investments in a wide range of infrastructure,
designed to get out the door as quickly as
possible while continuing a sustained effort at
creating jobs and improving America’s
productivity.

· Support for merit-based infrastructure

investment that leverages federal dollars. The
Administration supports financing infrastructure
investments in new ways, allowing projects to be
selected on merit and leveraging money with a
combination of grants and loans as was done
through the Recovery Act’s TIGER program.
3. Creating Jobs Through Energy Efficiency
and Clean Energy Investments

· New incentives for consumers who invest in

energy efficient retrofits in their homes. Smart,
targeted investments in energy efficiency can
help create jobs while improving our energy
security and saving consumers money. The
President today called on Congress to consider a
new program to provide rebates for consumers
who make energy efficiency retrofits. Such a
program will harness the power of the private
sector to help drive consumers to make cost-
saving investments in their homes.

· Expansion of successful oversubscribed Recovery

Act programs to leverage private investment in
energy efficiency and create clean energy
manufacturing jobs. The Recovery Act included
historic investments that have helped to build the
foundation for a clean energy economy. The
 Administration supports expanding programs for
which additional federal dollars will leverage
private investment and create jobs quickly, such
as industrial energy efficiency investments and
tax incentives for investing in renewable
manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

II. A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO JOB

CREATION THROUGH STEWARDSHIP OF TARP
AND OVERALL FISCAL DISCIPLINE

These steps are part of the President’s overall

approach to fiscal discipline. This includes:

· Freeing up resources from stabilizing Wall Street

and putting them to work on Main Street. Because
of the Administration’s stewardship of the TARP
program – combined with our broader efforts to
revive the economy – we now expect the cost to
be at least $200 billion less than anticipated as
recently as August. Indeed, since the Obama
Administration has taken office, only $7 billion has
been provided in assistance to banks, compared
to $114 billion in capital that banks subject to the
“stress test” have raised from the private sector.
These savings will allow us to pay down the deficit
faster than was anticipated while also investing
funds that would have gone to banks in job
creating efforts instead.

· An overall approach to fiscal discipline in the

budget. Although additional resources are needed
in the short-run to address the unemployment
crisis, the Administration is committed to doing
 what we need to bring the medium-term deficit
under control – and is exploring a range of steps
to take as part of the FY2011 budget process. An
additional important component of returning to
fiscal responsibility is passing health reform
legislation that not only reduces the deficit but
also reduces the long-term growth rate of health
care costs.

III. AN ONGOING FOCUS ON JOB CREATION

In addition to the proposals outlined above, the

Administration will be working with Congress to
ensure that those hit hardest by this economic crisis
continue to receive the support they need. This
includes: extending unemployment insurance for
Americans who are struggling to find jobs, extending
the Recovery Act provision that helps out-of-work
Americans keep their health insurance through
COBRA, providing an additional $250 Economic
Recovery Payment to our seniors and veterans, and
taking steps to ensure that state and local
governments are not forced to lay-off teachers,
police officers and other key personnel at this critical
time.

These steps will build on the efforts that the

Administration has already taken to accelerate the
pace of job growth, including tax cuts for struggling
businesses, an expanded homebuyer credit,
additional unemployment insurance to one million
Americans, and the Cash for Clunkers program. The
Administration is also continuing to pursue efforts to
increase the competitiveness of U.S. businesses and
strengthen their capacity to export to overseas
markets.

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