Obama: Poverty Rate Would've Been Even Higher Without My Policies

The White House released a statement from President Barack Obama today in response to a new Census Bureau report showing that U.S. poverty levels increased remarkably in 2009.

In the statement, Obama said his administration should be credited for taking steps last year to ensure that the historically high poverty figures did not grow even larger.

“Because of the Recovery Act and many other programs providing tax relief and income support to a majority of working families – and especially those most in need – millions of Americans were kept out of poverty last year,” the president said. “The substantial expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) helped inoculate our children from the economic distress experienced by their parents, as there was little change in the percentage of children without health insurance.”

“The Affordable Care Act will build on that success by expanding health insurance coverage to more families,” Obama added.

Bennet Rebuffs Obama's Infrastructure Plan

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) issued a statement today saying that he will not support President Barack Obama’s proposal to spend at least $50 billion on infrastructure projects.

“I will not support additional spending in a second stimulus package. Any new transportation initiatives can be funded through the Recovery Act, which still contains unused funds. Public-private partnerships that improve our infrastructure are a good idea, but must be paid for, should not add a dime to the deficit, and should be covered by unused Recovery Act dollars. We must make hard choices to significantly reduce the deficit.”

Bennet is up for re-election this November and polls show him running close with his opponent, conservative Republican Ken Buck.

Senate Republican Calls For Higher Gas Tax

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) says he urged President Barack Obama to consider raising taxes on fuel consumption to pay for national transportation projects.

“The fact is, we should be paying for the transportation bill by increasing the gas tax, which has not risen since 1993,” said the senior Senator in a statement released Wednesday. “The gas tax is a user fee. As President Ronald Reagan said in 1982, when the nation was facing record unemployment above 10 percent, ‘Good tax policy decrees that, wherever possible, a fee for a service should be assessed against those who directly benefit from that service.’”

Voinovich said Obama called him earlier this week to discuss a letter the retiring 74-year-old Republican sent to the President last week.

Romer Says More Spending Needed

Outgoing White House economic adviser Dr. Christina Romer said on Wednesday that increased government spending combined with tax cuts will lead to lower unemployment for Americans.

Romer, who is stepping down from her position atop the Council of Economic Advisers to return to the University of California-Berkely to teach economics, told an audience at the National Press Club in Downtown Washington that increased spending on infrastructure projects and other ‘emergency measures’ could be offset by future spending cuts.

Romer also warned against using the nation’s rising deficit as an excuse for “for leaving unemployed workers to suffer.”

Hoyer Defends Dissapointing GDP Report

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is defending his party over criticism regarding the Commerce Deparment’s report today that the nation’s GDP during the 2nd quarter grew at a rate of only 2.4%. Conversely, GDP grew at a rate of 3.7% in the first quarter of the year.

“Today we learned that the U.S. economy grew by 2.4% between the months of April and June, meaning that our economy has consistently grown every quarter for a year,” said Hoyer. “The last time our economy grew for four quarters in a row was 2007. While there is still much to be done, our economy is recovering from the crisis inherited by President Obama from President Bush.”