Obama announces economic team and stimulus plan

President-elect Barack Obama officially announced nominees for his economic team and his intention to pursue an economic stimulus package.

The team will consist of Tim Geithner, current President of the New York Federal Reserve, as treasury secretary; Lawrence Summers, formerly Treasury Secretary under the Clinton administration, as Chief of the National Economic Council; Christina Romer, UC Berkley economics professor, as the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; and Erika Barnes, Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress, as Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Also nominated was Heather Higginbottom, policy director for Obama for America, as Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

President-elect Obama announced that the first duty of his economic team will be to craft an economic stimulus package aimed at creating 2.5 million American jobs, rebuilding the national infrastructure, and undertaking reforms that will provide long-term economic stability. While Obama was reluctant to reveal how much the rescue package was expected to cost, the President-elect expected that Congress will pass the stimulus package when they resume session in January.

“Even as we face great economic challenges, we know that great opportunity is at hand – if we act swiftly and boldly. That’s the mission our economic team will take on,” said Obama during the press conference held at the Chicago Hilton Hotel.