New Dems Praise Announcement of Obama's Economic Team
Poised to tackle the unique economic challenges of the times, the leadership of the New Democrat Coalition, the largest coalition of moderate Democrats in the House, resoundingly praised President-elect Obama's announcement of his economic team today.
New Democrats have emerged as the go-to group in the House working to restore economic confidence and modernize regulation of the financial services sector. Twelve NewDems serve on the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA-10), the Chair of the Coalition, held a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and served as an officer of the American Stock Exchange before being elected to Congress.
"President-elect Obama has assembled a top notch economic team," said Tauscher. "The NewDems stand ready to work with the Obama administration to rebuild our economy. NewDem financial services, health care, and energy task forces are already hard at work preparing bold ideas to create jobs, reduce the costs of healthcare and make America energy independent."
In September, the Coalition announced the formation of a working group to focus on overhauling the regulatory environment and ensure the success of America's capital markets. The group is led by NewDem Vice-Chair and Financial Services Committee Member Melissa Bean (IL-8). The NewDems later became the only Coalition in the House to endorse the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act after successfully pushing for improvements in the plan, such as reimbursing taxpayers and reforming how business is done on Wall Street.
"The NewDems applaud President-elect Obama's selection of a first-rate panel of economic advisors," said Congressman Joseph Crowley (NY-7), NewDem Whip. "Our nation needs bold leadership to lift our flagging economy and bring stability to the financial markets, and the team assembled today will bring the experience and expertise we need during these difficult times. The New Democratic Coalition looks forward to working with the Administration to enact the policies needed to jumpstart our economy."
"The NewDems are well-positioned to complement the goals of Obama's economic team and agenda," Rep. Bean said. "The energy and transportation solutions we've been focusing on fit short-term job stimulus and long-term infrastructure criteria that president-elect Obama outlined as key to our economic recovery."
The group continues to meet with leading experts in the field to help improve transparency and oversight in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and develop a framework to help lead the country back to prosperity. Last week, the NewDems hosted a symposium with Members featuring leading experts in the field such as Bob Rubin, former Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton and a mentor of newly announced Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and senior White House economic advisor Lawrence Summers.
"President-elect Barack Obama has demonstrated with his timely, high quality picks for cabinet positions that he will be a decisive and visionary leader. The announcement of his economic team is exceptionally reassuring. It will bring together some of our nation's brightest economic minds to guide our country in these trying times," said Congressman Adam Smith (WA-9). "The NewDems also have a number of financial experts among its Members and the Coalition will continue to play a key role in developing policy and crafting legislation to address the current financial situation. In the coming years, the NewDems will play a major role in addressing our country's challenges and as a senior member of the NewDem leadership team I intend to work closely with the Administration, NewDem Members and leaders on both sides of the aisle to ensure we develop thoughtful, commonsense solutions."
"The fact that President-elect Obama already has his economic team in place speaks volumes to how he will handle this economy as President - with strong and decisive leadership. The people he has chosen are an impressive group of centrist, pragmatic economic leaders that will use innovation and responsible solutions to turn our economy around. We look forward to helping them implement a new strategy for the American economy," said NewDem Vice-Chair Rep. Ron Kind (WI-3).
"President-elect Obama's economic team has a tremendous level of depth and understanding of the complex issues facing America's economy. NewDems, like the President-elect, know that solving these economic challenges requires forward thinking, decisive action," said New Dem Vice-Chair Rep. Allyson Schwartz (PA-13).
The New Democrat Coalition, always leaders on the economy and innovation, is committed to enacting policies that maintain U.S. competitiveness, meet the challenges posed by globalization in the 21st Century and strengthen our national security. The NewDems are dedicated to providing the leadership necessary to implement policies that will ensure America rebuilds its prosperity and global leadership.
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