President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday a $787 billion economic stimulus package, a historic, multifaceted rescue plan aimed at creating millions of jobs, sparking consumer spending and stopping the country from sliding into what he has called an economic "catastrophe."
Characterizing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as the "most sweeping economic recovery package in our history," Obama said the bill's mix of tax cuts, infrastructure projects, energy and education investments, and aid to the unemployed and poor would create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, including roughly 60,000 in Colorado.
"We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time," Obama said just
Obama in Denver
before signing the bill at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in front of about 250 people.