Biden: White House 'misread' severity of economic crisis

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration "misread" the depth of the economic woes it inherited and still expects more new jobs in the long term as the spending pace from the $787 billion stimulus plan quickens, Vice President Joe Biden said.

Republican congressional leaders expressed disappointment about the effect of stimulus spending. "I'm very skeptical that the spending binge that we're on is going to produce much good and, even if it does, anytime soon," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement Sunday.

"I think the economy is just as likely to begin to recover on its own, wholly aside from this, before much of this has an impact," McConnell said.

Biden, in an interview that aired on ABC's "This Week," said the 9.5 percent unemployment rate is "much too high." The administration had predicted unemployment would stay below 8 percent with its stimulus plan.

"The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures and most of the blue chip indexes out there," Biden said. "We misread how bad the economy was, but we are now only about 120 days into the recovery package."

He cited the economic conditions inherited from the Bush administration. "It's now our responsibility. So the second question becomes ... is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? And we believe it is the right package given the circumstances we're in."

Biden said it's premature to say whether the country will need a second stimulus package.

While Biden argued that more jobs will be created in the coming months, House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said the GOP had wanted the bill to focus on small businesses and helping people keep more of what they earned.

"This was supposed to be about jobs, jobs and jobs. And the fact is it turned into nothing more than spending, spending and more spending on a lot of big government bureaucracy," Boehner said.

Even House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said no one is satisfied with the results of the stimulus so far. "But we believe the stimulus was absolutely essential," he said.

Biden noted that the plan was set up to spend the money over 18 months. Major programs will take effect in September, including $7.5 billion for broadband Internet service, plus new money for high-speed rail and the nation's electrical grid, he said.