WASHINGTON -- The $787 billion stimulus bill approved by Congress earlier this year has saved or created more than 640,000 jobs, including more than 100,000 in California, the White House said today.
"It's performing as advertised," said Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden said the stimulus has created another 400,000 jobs if you include harder-to-count jobs created as a result of extra economic activity, putting the total more than 1 million.
Standing at Biden's side, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said his state has saved or created more jobs than any other state in the nation. He said teachers and other educators account for more than 62,000 of California's jobs, including those who might have been laid off if not for the federal stimulus money.
In a display of bipartisanship orchestrated by the White House, the Republican governor praised the Democratic vice president and thanked the Obama administration for coming to the aid of California. He said the stimulus should not be a partisan issue.
"This is a people's issue," said the governor. "This is a jobs issue."
In a nod to the state's size, Biden introduced Schwarzenegger as "the governor of the country of California," and he applauded California and Maryland as two states leading the way in spending and accounting for stimulus money.
With less than half of the stimulus money spent, Biden said the White House is well on its way to reaching the 3.5 million jobs it predicated would be saved or created.
Not everyone's convinced.
House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio said the stimulus is not working "and no amount of phony statistics can change that."
He said the president and his economic team promised that the stimulus would create jobs immediately, adding: "America has lost more than three million jobs since then, and the unemployment rate is nearing double digits."
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