If the Federal funding is simply displacing State funding that otherwise would occur, then it is not going to stimulate the economy.

This is the largest Federal appropriation of its kind in American history.

Passing the Act was an important step towards immediate recovery and the restoration of long-term fiscal stability.

We need to make sure that the money is getting out the door and stimulating the economy in a much more direct way.

The first was to get money out into the economy to protect and create jobs.

the President signed the Recovery Act, which is intended to provide relief to millions of struggling families, jump-start our economy, create or save more than 3.5 million jobs over the next 2 years, and steer our Nation out of this…

I believe that much has been accomplished since the Recovery Act was passed.

I am not making this up, and I know that those grants do not go for leisure travel, do they?

I number myself among those, whether we can implement what we have already passed faster.

The second was to try to do it in a way that would make investments, significant investments in a better future for the American people.

It is essential that funds be spent wisely at all levels of government and in a way that maintains the confidence of the public.

If you haven't started thinking about who you would like to have on the Census Bureau, start thinking about it right now.

I think maybe in each of those instances, certainly in IRS, the Department of Treasury, you have a Commissioner serving a 5-year term and the head of the Department is a political appointee who may not be there for 5 years.

That is a very good point.

We really need to look at what other approaches are out there that can either get better results or at least control the costs better.

I think that is in some legislation that the House is considering.

I would like to ask each of you to send me two names by close of business tomorrow of somebody that you think would be an excellent Director of the Bureau of the Census.

We want to make sure that whoever is leading this operation has the resources to do the job as best we can.