Citizen Staff and Wire Reports
Citizen Staff and Wire Reports
Hours after signing the landmark economic-stimulus bill into law, President Barack Obama arrived in Phoenix Tuesday to tout his plan, marking his first visit to Arizona since taking the oath of office Jan. 20.
A number of dignitaries, including Gov. Jan Brewer, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Democratic Congressmen Ed Pastor and Harry Mitchell greeted the president on the tarmac. Obama and his aides stayed overnight at the three-month-old Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley.
On Wednesday, Obama will speak to several hundred people at Mesa’s Dobson High School, where he plans to outline his strategy to aid borrowers at risk of losing their home to foreclosure.
Arizona had the third highest rate of foreclosures in January, only trailing Nevada and California. And lenders this year are expected to foreclose on more than 118,000 homes in Arizona, according to a recent analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending.
During a four-hour trip to Denver earlier Tuesday, Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus legislation the Democratic-led Congress passed last week. The economic package, the largest in history, is a mixture of tax cuts and spending aimed at saving and creating jobs.
President Obama’s trip to Denver on Tuesday included signing the $787 billion stimulus bill.