Obama says policies helped, more needed

FAIRFAX, Va. - President Obama on Monday implored Americans to support his party's economic policies, even though he acknowledged that those policies had not brought about a recovery fast enough for many people.

"We stopped the bleeding, stabilized the economy, but the fact of the matter is the pace of improvement has not been where it needs to be," the president said during a backyard town hall in a wooded, middle-class neighborhood in Northern Virginia.

Obama said that additional economic measures - including the package of infrastructure investments and business tax incentives he proposed last week - would help accelerate growth in the short term, while also paving the way for more sustained growth.

The proposals would require congressional approval, an unknown prospect given Washington's highly partisan atmosphere and the midterm elections.

Obama also called on the Senate to pass a small-business bill that has languished on Capitol Hill. The legislation calls for about $12 billion in tax breaks for small businesses and a $30 billion fund to encourage banks to lend to small business.

The Senate is expected to consider that bill when Congress reconvenes this week. It is important, the president said, to help small businesses invest and to start hiring again.

He spoke at the home of John Nicholas and Nicole Armstrong, who saw their retirement and college savings for their two children diminish during the economic downturn that started in 2008. Armstrong recently decided to go back to work as a part-time administrator at a preschool to increase their income.

Amid unemployment that continues to hover near 10 percent, Obama is looking to refocus his efforts on the economy, seeking to ease the worries of anxious voters and Democratic lawmakers who fear that the sagging economy could lead to sweeping losses for their party.