Obama Introduces Economic Team

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A day after the Treasury department announced another bailout, this time of global financial giant Citigroup, President-elect Barack Obama named members of the economic team that will be officially tasked to implement the outgoing administration's rescue programs in less than two months.

In a press conference with Vice President-elect Joe Biden in Chicago, Obama said he had sought to "bring together the best minds in America to guide us" overcome "an economic crisis of historic proportions."

He named New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, and former Treasury Sec. Lawrence Summers as director of the National Economic Council. He said University of California-Berkeley economist Christina Romer will chair the Council of Economic Advisers and that Melody Barnes will be director of the Domestic Policy Council.

Obama said Geithner "has a long history of working comfortably, and as an honest broker, on both sides of the aisle." He added that Summers, who was also reportedly considered for the the post of Treasury secretary, "brings a singular combination of skill, intellect and experience" to his administration.

With jobless claims the highest in nearly two decades and the auto industry in turmoil, Obama called again for a second stimulus package. He said his economic team will be drafting the proposal in consultation with the Bush administration and Congress, where Democrats have tried passing a second stimulus plan.

The president-elect repeatedly reiterated during his prepared remarks on Monday that "there are no shortcuts or quick fixes to this crisis." He urged the new 111th Congress to begin work immediately on an "aggressive" stimulus plan when it convenes in January and said that he would discuss his plans for the federal budget on Tuesday. "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.

Obama is set to inherit a federal budget deficit over $1 trillion, according to an estimate by the Boston Globe. He is working with Democratic leaders for a second economic stimulus package that reports say could cost as much as the $700 billion financial bailout, or or Troubled Asset Relief Program, approved by Congress in October.

In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Obama said he will unveil details of his Economic Recovery Plan, which includes creating 2.5 million more jobs by January 2011, modernizing schools and building alternative energy technologies.

The Treasury department said on Sunday would guarantee $300 billion of Citigroup's assets and inject $20 billion in new capital. Citigroup, the nation's second-largest bank by assets, already received $25 billion from the $700 billion bailout.