NCAAbbs

Quote:President Obama today repeated the claim we asked about yesterday at the press briefing that Jim Owens, the CEO of Caterpillar, Inc., "said that if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off."

Caterpillar announced 22,000 layoffs last month.

But after the president left the event, Owens said the exact opposite.

Asked if the stimulus package would be able to stop the 22,000 layoffs or not, Owens said, "I think realistically no. The truth is we're going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again"

"It is going to take some time before that stimulus bill" means re-hiring, he said.

Quote:Republican Sen. Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination as President Barack Obama's commerce secretary Thursday, citing "irresolvable conflicts" over the administration's stimulus bill and the upcoming 2010 census.
Sen. Judd Gregg says it was a "mistake" to accept President Obama's nomination.

Sen. Judd Gregg says it was a "mistake" to accept President Obama's nomination.

"I realize that to withdraw at this point is really unfair in many ways," the three-term New Hampshire Republican said.

"But to go forward and take this position and then find myself sitting there and not being able to do the job the way it should be done on behalf of the president, 100 percent, that would have been an even bigger mistake."

Gregg said Obama had been "incredibly gracious" during the process, and that it was "my mistake, obviously, to say yes." He added that he would "probably not" seek re-election in 2010.

Gregg would have been the third Republican to join the Democratic administration, following Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

But a GOP source said Gregg "didn't want to be a powerless GOP token, and that's where this was headed." Video Watch Gregg explain why "it wasn't a good fit" »
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