国际英语新闻：Obama unveils new initiatives for middle class

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Monday unveiled a package of new initiatives to help struggling middle class families that he said has been "under assault for a long time."

"We're going to keep fighting to renew the American Dream," Obama told to the members of his task force, led by Vice President Joe Biden.

"Jone and I are going to keep on fighting for what matters to middle class Americans," he added.

The new proposals include a doubling of the child care tax credit for families earning under 85,000 dollars, a program to ease student loan payments and aid for families taking care of elderly relatives.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the meeting of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Families in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, January 25, 2010

The initiatives "will preview one of the key themes of the President's State of the Union address, which include creating good jobs, addressing the deficit, changing Washington, and fighting for middle class families," the White House also said in a statement.