Obama praises passage of stimulus

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CHICAGO, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Saturday hailed the passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill as a "major milestone on our road to recovery."

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama celebrated the passage of the measure but warned there was still much to be done to rescue the free-falling U.S. economy and staunch the flow of job losses.

"This is a major milestone on our road to recovery, and I want to thank the members of Congress who came together in common purpose to make it happen," Obama said. "Because they did, I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done."

But, he added, more needs to be done.

"This historic step won't be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but the beginning," Obama said. "The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread. Our response must be equal to the task."

Obama was resting at his home in Chicago Saturday and was set to travel to Denver and Phoenix on Tuesday and Wednesday, officials said.