Barack Obama visited the Saft America factory on Friday to highlight the success of his Stimulus program he signed into law at the start of his presidency. In his visit, the US president claimed that due to the hundreds of billions of dollars made possible by his stimulus package, the country's economy has dramatically improved.
The Florida battery plant using advance technology started operations in 2011, propped up by a $95.5 million investment courtesy of the Department of Energy. This factory highlighted the obstacles that have strengthened the economic recovery and the challenges that Obama experienced in claiming the credit.
"Saft is telling a story about the amazing work that people all across this country have done to bring America back from one of the worst financial crises of our history," said Obama in his speech at the battery plant.
The lithium-ion battery factory got its financial backing from the grant program of $787 billion economic stimulus that the US president has authorized.
While Obama is extoling his accomplishments, Rick Scott would not be left out as one of the credit claimants. The Florida governor is also taking credit for this accomplishment in his own effort to cement his legacy in bringing economic improvement to the state.
Scott has toured the battery plant's 235,000-square-foot facility four months earlier, where he highlighted his educational policies that focused on high-tech-job training, in addition to his efforts of recruiting national and international companies to increase their Florida operations.
"The governor has been here twice; he's been a huge supporter," Christopher P. Kaniut, the general manager for Saft America said. "He's very good for business," Kaniut added.
Scott also held a rally in Jacksonville, just three days ago, approximately 20 miles from where Obama gave his speech on Friday. He drew attention to the job recruitment program he initiated and claimed that it induced an Australian financial services company, the Macquarie Group, to create 120 new jobs in Florida.
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