Obama stimulus plan halted economic freefall, White House

The report, signed by Vice President Joe Biden who oversees how stimulus money is spent, stressed the depth of the crisis confronting Obama when he took office 13 months ago, as the President constantly reminds Americans in his speeches.

But it also highlighted Obama's challenge of trying to cut a 9.7 percent jobless rate that has fueled voter discontent.

The report said the package of stimulus spending and tax cuts "clearly halted an economic freefall." Obama will get the document at his economic intelligence briefing on Wednesday and he will speak about the economy to mark the anniversary of his signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act at 10.25 a.m. (1525 GMT).

Opposition Republicans, as they have been doing for months, hammered the White House for what they called a "poorly conceived and badly executed" stimulus plan.

"Self-congratulatory 'stimulus' spin from this administration is hopelessly out of touch with reality and has about as much as credibility as prior claims that unemployment wouldn't exceed 8 percent or that jobs would be created 'immediately'," John Boehner, Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said in a statement.