Washington (Platts)--14Apr2009

US President Barack Obama will credit his early economic initiatives with
beginning to turn around a still-bleak US economy and with helping to pave the
way for a future in which the country is less dependant of foreign oil,
according to excerpts of an economic address released by the White House.

When the current recession lifts after this year the US will be
positioned "to lead the world in the technologies, innovations, and
discoveries that will shape the 21st century," according to prepared remarks
for the address to be delivered at Georgetown University in Washington.

The president will focus on efficiency and alternative energy
technologies, which he says are already flourishing because of a $16.8-billion
infusion of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in
February. He will focus on the jobs these industries are adding already as a
result of the legislation.

As the nation rebuilds, it must take care to do so in a way that
incorporates the lessons of the recent past, rather than repeats its mistakes,
the president will say. He will allude to the domestic auto industry, which
still faces the prospect of bankruptcy. The excerpts say Detroit's
restructuring process will require "difficult and sometimes unpopular
choices," but promise an "unrelenting, unyielding, day-by-day effort" by the
Obama administration to address these and other challenges.

--Jean Chemnick, jean_chemnick@platts.com