Chairman Miller: Obama’s New Economic Team, Jobs Plan Reflect Real Commitments to Strengthening the Middle Class 

Monday, November 24, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement praising President-Elect Barack Obama’s selection of Timothy F. Geithner as Treasury Secretary, Lawrence H. Summers as director of the National Economic Council, Christina Romer as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, and Melody Barnes as director of Domestic Policy Council for his incoming administration.

“Today, President-Elect Obama announced that creating a strong, vibrant American middle class will be central to the new administration’s economic policies. Both the appointment of his economic team and this weekend’s announcement of a bold economic recovery plan prove that he intends to do just that. It’s clear that America has a new President who understands that we won’t be able to rebuild our economy unless we invest its economic fundamentals – students, workers, and middle-class families. This is exactly the kind of leadership our nation needs during this critical time.

“President-Elect Obama has assembled a team of talented, seasoned and innovative individuals who are well-equipped to tackle both the immediate and long-term economic challenges we face. His plan to create millions of new jobs by investing in our crumbling infrastructure – our roads, bridges, schools – and in a more sustainable, energy-efficient future is the right approach to get our economy moving forward again. In the coming weeks, Congress will work in a bipartisan way to deliver this plan to his desk so we can help get America back to work.”

At an Education and Labor Committee hearing in October, economists predicted that, unless immediate action was taken to create jobs, the economy could fall deeper into recession and the unemployment rate could reach at least 8 percent. Witnesses testified that making infrastructure investments are some of the most effective uses of federal dollars that create jobs in both the short-term and the long-term. For more information on that hearing, click here.

Earlier this month, Miller announced that the committee's mission in the 111th Congress would be to rebuild and strengthen America’s middle class. For more information, click here.

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