WASHINGTON — “Only a small part” of the nation’s $787 billion economic stimulus had been spent through the end of last month, according to congressional analysts, despite White House boasts Wednesday that the plan is a big success.
“One hundred days later, we are already seeing results,” President Barack Obama said during a visit to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
“Across America, recovery is underway,” Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement accompanying a progress report.
However, Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, was more cautious in his “State of the Economy” review to the House Budget Committee last week.
“The economy will stop contracting and resume growing during the second half of this year,” he said, “but the hardships caused by the recession will persist for some time.”
The CBO report found that through April, only about $19 billion in stimulus funds had been spent.
In addition, Elmendorf predicted, unemployment is expected to peak at 10.5 percent in the second half of next year. Last month’s rate was 8.9 percent, up from 8.1 percent in February, when the stimulus became law. The number of unemployed increased by 1.26 million during the past two months to 13.7 million.
The administration’s report Wednesday maintained that in the past 100 days, “we have obligated more than $112 billion, created more than 150,000 jobs and helped communities and tribes in every state and territory.”
Without the stimulus, said Jared Bernstein, Biden’s chief economic adviser, those jobs wouldn’t have been available.
Moreover, Biden said, recovery is “more than just a compilation of statistics; it’s the return of hope and optimism about the future that comes with making life better . . . across the country.”
The CBO report said the$19 billion in stimulus funds spent was part of a $380 billion stimulus package authorized for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
Independent economic analysts largely expected the initially slow pace of spending, as much of the money so far has gone for immediate needs.
The biggest chunk of stimulus spending involves infrastructure, energy, education and other projects that take time to develop, and are described in the administration report.
“The peak effect of the stimulus on (gross domestic product) is the end of this year,” Elmendorf said.
