President Obama has expressed that he is "not satisfied" with the pace at which economic stimulus efforts are being implemented; he has called for his cabinet to accelerate spending.
Most of the $787-billion stimulus package--comprised of $499 billion in new spending and $288 billion in tax relief--will be distributed in 2010 or beyond, according to White House officials. The administration has reported that while about $135 billion have been "obligated," approximately $44 billion have been paid out.
A new Gallup poll found that for the first time a majority (51 percent) of people disapprove of the president's handling of federal spending. The Labor Department has also reported a 25-year-high unemployment rate.
"When they passed [the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act], Democrats said it would immediately create jobs, yet nearly four months later, unemployment has continued to climb and none of their rosy predictions have come true," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Wall Street Journal.
"We're still in the middle of a very deep recession that was years in the making, and it's going to take a considerable amount of time for us to pull out of," Obama has said.
In late June, states must report as to how they will spend half of their transportation project funding.
