Obama pledged Today to go through the federal budget "page
by page, line by line" to eliminate excessive spending and
get the economy back on track."If we are going to make the investments we need, we also
have to be willing to shed the spending that we don't need,"
Obama said at a news conference in Chicago, Illinois.
"In these challenging times, when we're facing both rising
deficits and a sinking economy, budget reform is not an
option. It's a necessity," he said.
Obama said that he has selected Peter Orszag as his nominee
for director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, is an
expert on health care, pensions and Social Security policy.
He worked at the Clinton White House as special assistant to
the president at the National Economic Council and served
on the Council of Economic Advisers.
The move comes a day after the president-elect announced key
members of his economic team, including New York Federal
Reserve President Tim Geithner as his choice for treasury
secretary and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers as his
selection for chief of the National Economic Council.
Obama said today that there will be more announcements as he
fleshes out the rest of his economic team.
Those named to Obama's economic team already have started
working on crafting an economic recovery plan. Obama's team
also must figure out how best to allocate the rest of the
$700 billion bailout that Congress passed in October.
Obama said he hopes the new Congress will begin work on an
aggressive economic recovery plan when it convenes in January
so his administration can "hit the ground running."
An economic stimulus package is central to Obama's plan. Obama
on Monday declined to speculate how big the stimulus would need
to be, saying, "We are going to do what's required to jolt this
economy back into shape."
Estimates for how much might be spent on a multiple-year
stimulus package range as high as $500 billion to $700 billion.
At the center of the plan are investments in the nation's roads,
bridges, schools and alternative-energy infrastructure. Obama
has said his plan will lead to the creation of 2.5 million jobs.
"At this moment, we need to restore both confidence in the
markets and restore confidence of middle-class families,
who find themselves working harder, earning less and falling
further and further behind," he said Monday.
Obama said that the recovery will not happen immediately and
predicted that the economy likely would get worse before it
gets better.
"To make the investments we need, we'll have to scour our
federal budget, line by line, and make meaningful cuts and
sacrifices," he said.
Despite the problems facing his administration, Obama said
Monday that he is "hopeful about the future."
"I have full confidence in the wisdom and ingenuity of my
economic team and in the hard work, courage and sacrifice
of the American people," he said.
Obama also is expected to give key Cabinet positions to two
of his former presidential rivals, but those announcements
are not expected today.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is expected to be named
secretary of commerce, and Obama aides also have said that
Obama is "on track" to nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New
York as his secretary of state after Thanksgiving.
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