Obama: 'We are moving forward'

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama said Saturday there is no guarantee his economic plan will "restore our economy to full strength overnight" but "we are moving forward."

In his weekly radio and Internet address, the president said the Wall Street reform legislation he signed this week "will protect consumers and our entire economy from the recklessness and irresponsibility that led to the worst recession of our lifetime."

"It's reform that will help put a stop to the abusive practices of mortgage lenders and credit card companies. It will end taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street firms. And it will finally bring the shadowy deals that caused the financial crisis into the light of day," he said.

Obama called Wall Street reform a key pillar of his administration's economic plan, along with development of "a homegrown, clean energy industry" and tax breaks designed to promote hiring by small businesses and make college more affordable.

"Now, I can't tell you that this plan will bring back all the jobs we lost and restore our economy to full strength overnight," the president said. "The truth is, it took nearly a decade of failed economic policies to create this mess, and it will take years to fully repair the damage. But I am confident that we are finally headed in the right direction. We are moving forward."

However, Obama said Republicans in Congress are promoting "the same ideas that created this mess in the first place."