By AP
WASHINGTON (AP) – WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama, back from a four-nation trip, gets back to work on the economy today.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are scheduled to meet with Cabinet members to discuss specific plans over the next several months for spending stimulus money.
Just how much of an impact Obama's recovery program had on the pace of job losses is up for debate. His advisers say the stimulus is beginning to work and his Cabinet's increased focus on recovery efforts this summer will have an even greater effect on the economy.
Republicans remain critical, slamming the plan as a big government program that ultimately will do little for recovery.
Austan Goolsbee, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, says the nation's unemployment rate likely will continue to increase, even as stimulus money is released.