Obama jokes about 'shovel-ready projects'

By David Jackson, USA TODAY

Jun 13, 2011

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/06/obama-jokes-about-shovel-ready-projects/1

 

Obama jokes about 'shovel-ready projects'

While meeting with his Jobs and Competitiveness Council today in Durham, N.C., President Obama cracked wise about one of his administration's early catchphrases.

Remember "shovel-ready projects."

Those were construction projects in the 2009 stimulus bill that were supposed to get moving right away -- but jobs council members told Obama today that some got held up because of elaborate government regulations and permitting procedures.

"Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected," Obama said.

In both the jobs council meeting and in his speech later to employees at a Durham lighting company, Obama said regulatory change is a major part of his new jobs push.

"How do we deal with making sure our regulations make sense, so that we start eliminating ones that don't work, aren't making consumers better off or aren't improving our quality of life?" Obama told the employees.

Republicans said Obama's "shovel-ready" comment is more proof of the shortcomings on his economic policies.

"He's a couple of years behind the rest of America," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "But it's refreshing that the president himself is now acknowledging the failure of his stimulus program."