TROY — President Barack Obama on Monday rallied support for his plan to develop new jobs, businesses and industries and unleash Americans’ innovative potential to boost the economy during his noon appearance at Hudson Valley Community College.
His plan started with economic recovery money for innovation and continues with an emphasis on education — led by community colleges such as HVCC — technology, research and clean energy to create new jobs.
The resulting growth would ultimately allow the country to better compete with other nations, Obama said. “As we emerge from this current economic crisis, our great challenge will be to ensure that we don’t just drift into the future, accepting less for our children, accepting less for America,” Obama told about 350 invited guests.
The president said he is committed to putting federal dollars into what he called the building blocks of innovation: education, infrastructure and research.
He cited legislation in various stages, as well as regulatory and executive orders that would meet those goals.
Before his half-hour talk in the senior automotive lab in Williams Hall on campus, Obama toured an industrial wiring class with Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, who later introduced him to the crowd.
“His initiative includes a boost in the amount of federal Pell grants and a fairer application process that gives financial aid to students who made too much money last year to qualify but have since lost their jobs.
“I hear too much from folks who say, ‘I can’t get any student aid because they’re still looking at my income taxes when I had a job as opposed to my situation right now,’ ” Obama said.
He also has proposed taking back an $80 billion subsidy to banks for student loans, using the savings to boost financial aid and increase programs to help students graduate.
That legislation has passed the House of Representatives but not the Senate.
“This is exactly the kind of waste that leaves people wary of government,” Obama said.
Other proposals Obama plans to push in Congress this term:
* Boosting research grants to the National Science Foundation and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
* Putting 3 percent of the gross domestic product into research and development.
* Reducing to zero the capital gains tax for startup companies.
* Making clean energy profitable under a bill that has passed the House and is in the Senate.
Obama praised the work being done in the Capital Region’s Tech Valley, including GE Energy in Schenectady, IBM’s partnership with the University at Albany, the GlobalFoundries semiconductor plant and HVCC’s future TEC-SMART training facility.
“The ingredients are right here for growth and success and a better future,” Obama said.
Community leaders can use GlobalFoundries’ commitment to lure more technology companies to the area, said Art Johnson, chairman of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.
“We’re that much further ahead of the game by already having GlobalFoundries.”
Michael Tucker, president and CEO of the Center for Economic Growth in Albany, noted that Obama mentioned Tech Valley and California’s Silicon Valley in the same sentence, elevating the area’s reputation.
“It’s a rallying call to focus our efforts on building work force development and training in our region,” Tucker said.
Obama’s dizzying set of initiatives raised questions with William Dake, chairman of Stewart’s Shops, who attended as a guest.
“What he wants to accomplish is delightful, but the challenge of how it is accomplished in today’s economy potentially creates a serious gap,” said Dake, who described himself as a “fiscal conservative, social liberal” who voted for Obama.
Mark Lawton of Saratoga Springs said he was pleasantly surprised to hear a broader, more substantive speech than the inspirational community college speech he expected.
“He’s really aiming this speech at middle America — the guys who are unemployed,” Lawton said.
Lawton, a former state budget director who doesn’t belong to a political party who also attended as a guest, said Obama did a good job of boiling down complicated public policy into a simplified package.
About 80 students listened to Obama’s speech, including some studying semiconductor manufacturing, electrical construction and automotive technology.
“I think he’s got good ideas to move forward,” said 19-year-old Stephen Karius of Colonie, who is studying automotive technology.
Derrick Guzzo, 19, of Scotia said he picked HVCC because it is reputed to be one of the best automotive technology schools in the area. The lower cost of a community college attracted him too, Guzzo said.
State Sen. Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga, also believes in community colleges. McDonald is a Hudson Valley graduate whose parents never graduated from high school.
“If it wasn’t for Hudson Valley, I’d still be a laborer,” McDonald said. “This is where it started.”
The president arrived at Albany International Airport on Air Force One about 11 a.m., and was greeted by Gov. David A. Paterson, U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy and Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings.
The officials traveled to Troy by motorcade.
Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, rode with the president to Albany on Air Force One, while Murphy and Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, rode to New York City on Air Force One after the speech.
Other local dignitaries spotted in the crowd on Monday included Hector Ruiz, chairman of GlobalFoundries; Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton; Assemblyman Jack McEneny of Albany; former Congressman Mike McNulty; Attorney General Andrew Cuomo; Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli; Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver; and John Sampson, Democratic Conference leader in the state Senate.
