Pres. Obama Says Stimulus Funds Responsible for Battery Progress

"You're the lead to show how manufacturing jobs are coming back to the United States of America. Our goal has never been to a government program, but rather the private sector to unleash growth. And we see results. "- President Barack Obama

President Obama in Michigan last week at the groundbreaking of a battery factory that has received $ 151,000,000 in federal funding tout. In the process, Pres. Obama made sure everybody was aware of the "tens of thousands of American jobs" coming from the federal battery investment.

According to an Energy Department report released last week, the 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in grant money to provide advanced battery and vehicle was matched by participating companies "at least dollar for dollar." The report stated that the United States only 2 percent of world production EV batteries for the Recovery Act, but the capacity to produce 20 per cent in 2012 and not as much as 40 percent by 2015. The report also said that all nine of the battery plants opening as a result of incentive funds had broken the ground and four would be up and running by the end of this year.

"I just want to make sure everybody understands that this country would be better off if the plant had been built and not as the Clean Energy package that made it possible not to," said President Obama. "And if your head from one of the two dozen battery technology plants coming online that will be stamped" Made in America "their products, people who I wil al tegen te push economic policy in this presentation to the employees why het beter would be for these things are manufactured in other countries. "