Bill Clinton: Economic stimulus paying off

WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. economic stimulus is paying off, ex-President Bill Clinton said as he hosted an economic conference in Chicago.

"I think the stimulus did as well as it could have done -- there just wasn't enough of it," Clinton said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

President Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill to shore up the reeling economy has been attacked by Republicans and Tea Party conservatives as not producing the results they say Obama promised -- and adding to the federal deficit.

ABC News reported Clinton has laid out a blueprint to boost jobs. His 14 proposals, published in this week's Newsweek, focus on boosting private sector jobs, job training and making the United States more competitive globally.

During the first plenary session Wednesday, Clinton introduced an initiative from Visa and Kiva, a San Francisco-based online microlending firm, to support loans to small businesses in the nation's cities.

The proposals also include a few tax breaks for employers, ABC reported.

The two-day Clinton Global Initiative America in Chicago focused on job creation and economic growth. The session will include U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Dow Corning Chairman Stephanie Burns, and Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, among others.