Obama uses job losses to push stimulus

President Obama cited Friday’s “devastating” job loss figures to prod congressional Republicans into supporting his economic stimulus plan, saying the problem is “getting worse, not better.”

In an East Room event where he announced his new economic advisory board, Obama pointed to the newly released figure of 7.6 percent unemployment in warning congress that inaction is “completely unacceptable to the American people.”

{mosads}The nation has lost 3.6 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, according to the report released Friday by the Department of Labor.

“These numbers demand action,” Obama said. “It is inexcusable and irresponsible to get bogged down in distraction and delay while millions of Americans are being put out of work. It is time for Congress to act.”

In recent days as Senate and House Republicans have ratcheted up their criticism of the bill, the president has likewise turned up the heat, reminding Republicans at every turn that he won the last election.

“The American people did not choose more of the same,” Obama said. “They did not send us to Washington to get stuck in partisan posturing, or to turn back to the same tried and failed approaches that were rejected in the last election. They sent us here to make change, and the expectation that we would act.” According to the prepared remarks, Obama was set to claim a “mandate for change,” but he changed it during his speech.

The White House said Friday that the president’s executive order establishing his economic board of advisors is modeled on the foreign intelligence advisory board created by President Eisenhower.

Paul Volcker will serve as chairman of the board, and longtime Obama economic adviser Austin Goolsbee will serve as staff director and chief economist.

Others on the board include Obama’s campaign finance chief Penny Pritzker and former Securities and Exchange Commissioner William Donaldson. Labor unions also have voices on the board in Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, and Anna Burger, chairwoman of Change to Win.

“To put it simply, I created this board to enlist voices that come from beyond the echo chamber of Washington, D.C., and to ensure that no stone is unturned as we work to put people back to work and to get our economy moving,” the president said.