UPDATE:Obama Touts Energy Grants, Calls For 'Spirit Of Optimism'
05 August 2009 - 7:58PM
Dow Jones News
Visiting an area hard-hit by the recession, President Barack
Obama called for new energy-sector innovations to plant the seeds
of an economic recovery, and urged Americans stung by rising
joblessness not to lose hope.
"This country wasn't built just by griping and complaining, it
was built by hard work and taking risks, and that's what we have to
do today," Obama said in a speech in Wakarusa, Ind.
"This is a rare moment in which we're called upon to rise above
the failures of the past, this is a chance to restore that spirit
of optimism and opportunity which has always been central to our
success."
Obama's two-hour trip to Elkhart County, the downturn-battered
RV-manufacturing hub he also visited in February, served a dual
purpose - to counter what he called "misinformation" on the
economic stimulus package and unveil $2.4 billion in grants to
makers of next-generation car batteries and parts.
Navistar International Corp. (NAV), where Obama was speaking,
received a $39 million grant to make electric trucks, one of seven
projects in the Hoosier State that together will get more than $400
million in grants. The White House says that will save or create
"thousands" of jobs in a state where joblessness is well above the
national average.
The economic slump has been devastating in Elkhart County, where
unemployment is a state-high 16.8%.
"This area's been hit with a perfect storm of economic
troubles," Obama said, calling the area's surge in unemployment
"astonishing."
"Over the last few decades, you've born the brunt of a steadily
weakening of American manufacturing in the face of global
competition. You've felt the impact of the struggles of the
American auto industry and the repercussions that have hit the
Midwest especially hard," he said. "And you're living every day
with the consequences of this recession and the financial
meltdown."
The White House in recent days has pointed to signs of
stabilization in the economy, but warned that the long-awaited
recovery still hasn't arrived, with unemployment expected to
continue to rise. The July payrolls report, to be released Friday,
is expected to show another increase in the jobless rate, already
at a 26-year high of 9.5%.
Obama said the Recovery Act is helping create jobs in Elkhart
and elsewhere by investing in innovative technologies.
But Republicans say the rising jobless rate is evidence the $787
billion stimulus package isn't working.
Obama's remarks in Elkhart spearheaded a blitz by the
administration, with officials spreading throughout the country to
tout the new grants and soothe worries about the broader
economy.
In Detroit, Vice President Joe Biden announced more than $1
billion in grants to Michigan-based companies and universities,
including A123 Systems Inc. and Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), which
received a total of around $550 million. The Detroit Three auto
makers will get more than $400 million to manufacture advanced
hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as batteries and electric
drive components.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
travelled to North Carolina and Florida, respectively, to unveil
similar grant-winning projects. Other companies receiving the
government cash include Ener1 Inc. (HEV), Celgard, Saft America
Inc., East Penn Manufacturing Co., Smith Electric.
The administration hopes developing a domestic electric-vehicle
industry can help create U.S. jobs and reduce demand for oil.
Hybrid vehicles currently produced in the U.S. rely on batteries
made by foreign companies.
"For too long we failed to invest in this kind of innovative
work even as countries like China and Japan were racing ahead,"
Obama said.
"I want the cars of the future and the technologies that power
them to be developed and deployed right here, in America. And
that's just the beginning."
-By Henry J. Pulizzi and Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires;
202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com