Obama: We've Stopped The Bleeding, More Must Be Done

President Barack Obama spoke Monday in Fairfax, Va. where he told a group of local residents that his economic policies have “stopped the bleeding” from an economy nearing a state similar to that of the Great Depression. 

Obama reiterated to guests that the rate of recovery has not met his expectations and making up for the 8 million total jobs lost is an “enormous challenge.”.

“The fact of the matter is the pace of improvement has not  been where it needs to be and the hole that we had dug ourselves in was enormous,” Obama said. 

The president called on a Congress fresh off its August recess to pass a small business jobs bill that he said would offer businesses more assurance in prospective tax cuts, giving them more incentive to hire new employees. 

“Pass this bill, I will sign it into law the day after it’s passed or the day it is passed,” Obama said. “Right away, I think a lot of small businesses around the country will feel more comfortable about hiring and making investments.”

Obama also told the small group of northern Virginia residents that a Republican backed extension of Bush-era tax cuts is too expensive for the country.  The president said that his administration is still “in this wrestling match with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell” over extending tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans. 

“We just can’t afford it,” Obama said.