国际英语新闻：Biden stresses effectiveness of U.S. stimulus package

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday stressed in a report the efficiency of the Recovery Act projects, as funds have been put to work on schedule, projects have come in under-budget and strong oversight is employed.

"The administration projects that 70 percent of Recovery Act funds were outlayed by Sept. 30, with 308 billion U.S. dollars spending paid out and 243 billion U.S. dollars in tax relief provided," said the report.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed the 787-billion-dollar Recovery Act into law soon after his inauguration last year, in a bid to jump-start the faltering economy and reduce unemployment rate.

Cost-savings on the Recovery Act projects from transportation to military facilities were great, and over 3,000 additional job-creating projects were able to be funded through the Recovery Act, according to the report.

This is the second time within in two weeks that Biden delivers such reports to defend the stimulus package.

With the congressional elections approaching and U.S. unemployment rate still hovering around 10 percent, some Republicans criticized that the stimulus program had not achieved the expected effects.