Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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February 24, 2009

Troubled US Economy Tops Obama, Bernanke Agendas
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=227DC53:A6F02AD83191E160E1ECFB7AB800649670AD7039DCD7B7E4&
 
Central Bank chief briefs lawmakers; US president addresses joint
session of Congress tonight to outline priorities, economic plans -
Watch it LIVE here on VOANews.com! 
President Barack Obama addresses lawmakers as he opens the Fiscal
Responsibility Summit in East Room of the White House, 23 Feb. 2009 U.S.
President Barack Obama is set to address the nation Tuesday about
economic issues, hours after the head of the U.S. central bank said the
economy is in a "severe" contraction. U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke says if numerous efforts to bolster the U.S.
economy are not successful, the recession could continue into 2010.He
told a congressional hearing that the economy is plagued by falling
home values, tight lending conditions, and rising unemployment. New
economic reports Tuesday underlined the difficulties facing economic
policymakers, as consumer confidence fell to another record low, and
home prices dropped at a record rate. President Obama will
speak to lawmakers and the American people about economic and other
challenges facing the United States in his first appearance before a
joint session of Congress. The president recently signed a
$787 billion economic stimulus plan into law, unveiled plans to help
struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages, and said he wants to
cut the federal deficit in half by 2013. Two new polls by the
New York Times and the Washington Post say so far, President Obama gets
high marks from a majority of Americans.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Bloomberg.


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