President Barack Obama focused on the economy Friday while stumping for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in Nevada.
“An economy that was shrinking is now growing,” Obama said from the University of Las Vegas. “We’ve gained private sector jobs for each of the past six months, instead of losing them. Almost 600,000 new jobs.”
However, Obama added, the fiscal state of the U.S. is still not up to par. To rectify this, the President emphasized his administration’s plan to expand tax credits for companies pursuing clean energy.
“I’m urging Congress to invest $5 billion more in these kinds of clean energy manufacturing tax credits, more than doubling the amount we made available last year,” Obama said. “This investment would generate nearly 40,000 jobs and $12 billion or more in private sector investment which could trigger could an additional 90,000 jobs.”
Focusing on Reid, Obama touted the Senator’s leadership and acknowledged the often-times politically difficult legislation the 70 year old candidate guided through the upper chamber.
This legislation, especially the Recovery Act and health care reform, has made Reid a top target for Republican activists. His challenger, former state legislator Sharron Angle, is a tea party favorite. According to the latest Rasmussen poll, Reid is trailing Angle by seven percent.