Obama Names Economic Panel, Volcker to Lead

Drawing on industry and academia, Obama hopes to avoid Beltway vacuum

By Clay Dillow, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 6, 2009 7:06 AM CST

(Newser) – The White House today named a team of economic advisers, led by former Fed chairman Paul Volcker, to help shape the economic recovery with voices from outside the Beltway, the Washington Post reports. With an initial term of 2 years, the White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board will add to the chorus already advising President Obama, which includes Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council director Lawrence Summers.

The board will pull from industry, public service and academia, including voices like General Electric chief executive Jeffrey Immelt and Caterpillar chief James Owens, as well as former SEC chairman William H. Donaldson, Clinton-era economic adviser Laura D’Andrea Tyson and Martin Feldstein, chief economic adviser to Ronald Reagan. Reports surfaced yesterday that Volcker is frustrated with the administration, particularly Summers, for not engaging him more.

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In this Nov. 26, 2008 file photo, then President-elect Barack Obama stands with former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who was tapped to lead the White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File))

Paul Volcker, former Fed chair under Clinton, was reportedly growing frustrated with Obama administration officials, particularly Larry Summers, for leaving him out of the loop on economic policy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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The Board will bring a diverse set of perspectives and voices from different parts of the country and different sectors of the economy to bear in the formulation and evaluation of economic policy.
- White House statement

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Obama Names Economic Panel, Volcker to Lead