Yesterday, The president asked Congress  to approve a record amount of spending on economic relief. His administration  insisted that in order for the economy to recover, the government must  spend more money on the relief efforts. You can find a story of the  announcement from the Associated Press piece below.
 
Spelling out painful priorities, President  Barack Obama urged Congress on Monday to quickly approve a huge new  shot of spending for recession relief and job creation, part of a record  $3.8 trillion budget that would boost the deficit beyond any in the  nation's history while only slowly beginning to put Americans back to  work.
If Congress goes along with Obama's election-year  plan, the nation would still end the year with unemployment pushing  double digits at 9.8 percent and this year's pool of government red  ink deepening to $1.56 trillion — by the administration's accounting.
 
The spending blueprint for next year  calls for tax cuts for workers and business and more aid for cash-starved  state governments as well as the unemployed. The jobs initiative largely  mirrors last year's stimulus bill, but is about one-third its size.  The president is asking for nearly $300 billion for recession relief  and job stimulus.