Obama takes stimulus pulse at Peoria plant

EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- Job cuts at Caterpillar are an "urgent warning sign for America," President Obama said Thursday, and passage of his economic stimulus package would help put people back to work here and across the nation.

"It is time for Congress to act and I hope they act in a bipartisan fashion," Obama said on a factory floor with Caterpillar equipment as a backdrop. "When they finally pass our plan, I believe it will be a major step forward on our path to economic recovery."

Caterpillar, based here and employing more than 18,000 in the area and 112,000 worldwide, last month announced plans to cut 22,000 jobs. Obama said CEO Jim Owens had told him that "if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off."

Later, Owens seemed to contradict that statement, telling reporters, "We'll probably have to have more layoffs before we can start hiring again."

Speaking to a few hundred Caterpillar workers and local officials, Obama said, "Your machines plow the farms that feed our families, build the towers that shape our skylines, lay the roads that connect our communities, power the trucks that deliver our goods, and more."

Caterpillar "tells us a larger story about what's happening with our nation's economy," he said. Obama didn't take any questions, unlike previous rallies this week in Indiana and Florida.

Congress is preparing to vote on the $790 billion package of spending initiatives and tax cuts. Obama said it won't solve every economic problem, but added, "We have a once-in-a-generation chance to act boldly

It can't come soon enough for some people here. "There's a lot of uncertainty," said Ashley Bryan, 45, a machine operator who has worked for Caterpillar for four years. "I haven't gotten a (layoff) letter yet, but if there's another round I probably will," he said. Although he didn't vote for Obama, Bryan said he's "open-minded" about his economic policies. If they don't succeed, he said, "maybe we should have made a different choice" in November's election.

Steve Albritton, 59, a quality supervisor at the Caterpillar plant, is worried for his younger co-workers. "We've got a lot of young people buying their first house and car. They're nervous," he said. Putting more money in consumers' wallets will help, Albritton said.

Obama said his plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years. He described the stakes in human terms. "It's about folks

Julie Fischer, 27, sees and lives that every day. She works six days a week as a manager at a company that gives short-term loans and is living with her two children in her in-laws' basement because her husband can't find a job.

She's willing to be patient with Obama as she waits for things to improve. "We have to give him some time to get a handle on things," she said, but she worries about the broadening effects of the crisis. "It's everywhere," she said.

William Hall, a political science professor at Peoria's Bradley University, said people here are rattled because Caterpillar has been relatively stable for decades. "There is still hope here, but it can only withstand so many job losses," he said.

Fred Rotermund, 66, a Caterpillar retiree, worries that the recovery will take so long that his children's jobs will be at risk. Obama, he said, has four years in office, "but we don't have four years."

Contributing: The Associated Press