Obama: Important to lay foundations for long-term growth -- AP

US President Barack Obama said it was important to lay the foundations for long-term economic growth, while dealing with the current short-term crisis.

In an interview with The Associated Press published nine hours ago, Obama said health care and clean energy reforms could provide the next growth engines.

"We've got to figure out what the next growth engine is beyond credit card debt and home equity loans and derivatives on Wall Street," Obama said.

"And that's the reason why we've emphasized reforming our health care system, which has been a drag on our overall economy, and why clean energy is so important, because if we're weatherizing every building and home in America, if we are creating windmills and solar panels and biofuel facilities, that is a huge promising area, not only for jobs here in the United States but also for export growth, and we've got to lift up our exports," he said.

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