Obama: Tax Cut Quickest and Broadest in History

Mr. Obama said the U.S. Treasury Department is now directing employers to cut the amount of taxes being withheld from paychecks and that by April 1 a typical family will begin taking home an additional $65 every month.

In his weekly broadcast address Saturday, President Obama said this tax cut is going to more Americans more quickly than any ever before.

He went on to highlight what his economic stimulus plan aims to do, including creating 3.5 million jobs to help do "the work that America needs done." The president also said that signing the plan into law is only a first step on the road to economic recovery.

By VOA News.

Two important takeaways from the President's Weekly Address this morning.

#1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will start having an impact as soon as a few weeks from now, in the form of the quickest and broadest tax cut in history:

"Because of what we did, 95% of all working families will get a tax cut -- in keeping with a promise I made on the campaign. And I’m pleased to announce that this morning, the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks -- meaning that by April 1st, a typical family will begin taking home at least $65 more every month. Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans."

#2, once the economy has recovered and we’ve laid the groundwork for a sustainable future, the President is committed to taking on the massive deficits we inherited:

"That work begins on Monday, when I will convene a fiscal summit of independent experts and unions, advocacy groups and members of Congress to discuss how we can cut the trillion-dollar deficit that we’ve inherited. On Tuesday, I will speak to the nation about our urgent national priorities, and on Thursday, I’ll release a budget that’s sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and that lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don’t, and restoring fiscal discipline."