The Gibbs Gaggle: Cash for Clunkers Continues

ABC NEWS' Yunji de Nies Reports:In his morning gaggle with the reporters, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs focused on the "Cash for Clunkers" program and the new GDP numbers."Cash for Clunkers" Continues"The administration and bipartisan leaders of Congress are working this morning to find and develop ways to continue to fund this program.  The program is up and continuing to run," Gibbs said.  He called it a success for car buyers, dealers, companies and taxpayers, "who are seeing people choose more fuel efficient cars."The bottom-line to consumers: "If you were planning on buying a car this weekend and using this program, this program continues to run.  And if you meet the requirements for the program, the certificates will be honored."  No word how long beyond this weekend it will continue — Gibbs said it depends on how much additional funding the government decides to authorize. Gibbs said there are roughly 20,000 certificates waiting to be processed – but could not definitively if the money is totally tapped out. "It's something we believe can, should and will be extended."So where is the new money going to come from? Gibbs offered no specifics. Would not say if stimulus, TARP, or an emergency supplemental would be possible options. GDP RevisionsGibbs showed us a chart with revised GDP figures from the Commerce Department and the CEA.  "The first five quarters of the recession, GDP originally was believed to have contracted 2.2 percent, that contraction was revised downward to 3.5 percent," Gibbs said. "Our first mission in coming into office was to rescue the economy, to stop the slippage, to prevent it from going over the edge, we now know how much closer we were to the edge given the fact that we have a sense that the recession has been deeper than previously thought," he said.  That's why today's reported 1% contraction he says, is actually relatively good news. "I think it's very likely that when we come here a week from today and talk about unemployment numbers, we'll see hundreds of thousands more jobs lost.  But we're not going to get job growth unless or until we begin to see economic growth, and I think that shows you the degree to which today's numbers are positive," Gibbs said.