Obama displays readiness for day one

President-elect Barack Obama reassured the nation Tuesday that the old way of doing business in Washington is over, and the gears are in motion for him to hit the ground running once in office.

President-elect Barack Obama reassured the nation Tuesday that the old way of doing business in Washington is over, and the gears are in motion for him to hit the ground running once in office.

During a news conference to announce more members of his economic team, Obama said he was chosen to “move the country in a new direction and not continue the same old practices that have gotten us into this fix we are in.”

And while President George W. Bush continues at the helm, Obama said it’s important for the American people to see the new administration take the necessary steps to be ready on day one and not “stumble” into a new administration.

Federal spending programs will be examined under a microscope: politics have no place in deciding what projects inch closer to the top of the funding list, he said. Obama urged Congress to craft an economic stimulus program for him to sign once he is sworn into office.

The stimulus is estimated to cost between $500 to $700 billion over two years.

The President-elect said “given the extraordinary circumstances,” confidence must be restored in the edgy financial market and with families struggling to make ends meet.

He appointed Peter Orszag his budget director and Robert Nabors as the deputy director.

Earlier this week, he announced the appointments of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary nominee, Lawrence Summers as the head of the National Economic Council and Christina Romer as the director of the Council of Economic Advisors. More appointments to Obama’s economic team are expected to be announced before December.

Orszag, according to Obama, “knows where the bodies are buried” in the federal budget. He is the director of the Congressional Budget Office. Nabors is a key staff aide on the House Appropriations Committee.

The duo, along with the rest of Obama’s economic slate, will go through federal spending programs with a fine-toothed comb and get rid of programs that are not needed. For those that must remain, the purse strings will be tightened, he said.

“We are going to have to jump-start the economy. We have to make sure we are not wasting money in every area. If we are going to make the investments we need, we also have to be willing to shed the spending we don’t need. Budget reform is not an option, it’s a necessity,” said Obama, requesting his economic team to “think anew and act anew.”

To re-ignite the economy, the president-elect hopes to create about 2.5 million jobs, many of which could come from infrastructure projects across the nation in consideration for federal funding.

For the projects already in cue for funding, he wants to make sure the money will be available to complete them but stressed that political favors won’t factor in what gets funded first, second, etc.

Funding for local and state bridges and roads that are in disrepair will be based on “national priority, not politics,” said Obama.

“Friendships don’t come into this. That’s part of the old way of doing business. The new way of doing business is make sure we get the most bang for the buck,” he said.

Obama’s presidency begins Jan. 20, 2009.

Copyright 2008 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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