With a state DOT deadline looming, President Barack Obama pushed cabinet members to accelerate economic stimulus spending.
Recent Gallup polls indicate that the American public is starting to turn on the Obama administration. One that was released on June 8 showed that for the first time Americans (51%) do not approve on how the White House is handling federal spending, and when it comes to the economy overall, 42% are not confident in the handling by the administration. In February, 59% of Americans gave Obama the thumbs up on how he was tackling the financial state of the U.S.
“When they passed [the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act], Democrats said it would immediately create jobs, yet nearly four months later, unemployment has continued to climb, and none of their rosy predictions have come true,” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told the Wall Street Journal.
ARRA was designed to distribute funds at a relatively steady pace, and later this month DOTs are supposed to show how 50% of the $48 billion dedicated for transportation will be spent. However, states are not required to have those dollars spent yet, and the Obama administration is expecting that most of the money will not flow out into the marketplace until 2010 or later. The administration has not offered details on how ARRA spending could be pushed at a faster rate.