Barack Obama

“ Whenever I've been asked how I measure the strength of the American economy, my answer is simple: jobs and wages. I know we will be headed in the right direction again when we are creating jobs instead of losing them, and when Americans are gaining ground in terms of their incomes instead of treading water or falling behind. ”

“ Standing up for our workers means putting them back to work and fueling economic growth. Our economy boomed in the 20th century when President Eisenhower remade the American landscape by building the interstate highway system. Now we need to remake our transportation system for the 21st century. Doing so will not only help meet our energy challenges by building more efficient cars, buses and subways or making Americans safer by rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, it will create millions of new jobs in the process. ”

“ America's spirit of entrepreneurship is one of our greatest assets, as we compete in this global economy. I'm very pleased to be joining the Obama administration in a role that fosters this entrepreneurial spirit. ”

“ As secretary of Labor, I'll work to strengthen our unions and support every American in our nation's diverse workforce.
I look forward to working with President-elect Obama to reinvest in workforce training, build effective pipelines to provide at-risk youth and underserved communities with sustainable skills, and support high-growth industries by training the workers that they need. This includes promoting green-collar jobs. These are jobs that will provide economic security for all working families while securing our energy supply and combatting climate change. ”

“ But like the president, I believe that trade can help us create jobs at home and encourage development abroad. And like President-elect Obama, I believe a values-driven trade agenda that stays true to our commitment, to America's workers and environmental sustainability, is not only consistent with a pro-trade agenda but it's also necessary for its success. ”

“ Ray's appointment reflects that bipartisan spirit, a spirit we need to reclaim in this country to make progress for the American people and a spirit that Ray has embodied in all of his years in public service.
To strengthen our economy, we must also strengthen the small businesses that are its backbone. I can think of no one better to lead this effort as administrator of the Small Business Administration than Karen Mills. With Karen at the helm, America's small businesses will have a partner in Washington, helping them create jobs and spur growth in communities across this country. ”

“ What has been striking in the conversations that we have had with economists from the left and the right over the past several months is how the economic forecasts have deteriorated, and the conclusion has been that with credit freezing up, with businesses laying off workers, with a continued weakness in the housing market and escalating foreclosures, that unless you have a bold approach, you could see the economy continuing to decline at a pretty rapid clip. That is not acceptable to me, and I don't think it's acceptable to the American people. ”

“ Small business is at the heart of the American economy. There are over 6 million small businesses in this country. And they create 70 percent of the new jobs every quarter. They could be small businesses on Main Street or new green-energy startups. But if these companies grow and prosper, jobs are created, and America stays competitive. ”

“ If we are building a bridge, it better be because an engineer identified a bridge that has a structural weakness and that has to be dealt with. If we are going to embark on this enormous project of transforming our energy economy, then we want to make certain that -- that we are pairing up new technologies with our energy needs and that, you know, we have had scientists and engineers look over all these projects before they actually hit the ground. ”

“ As a daughter of immigrants raised in La Puente in the San Gabriel Valley, near the beloved East Los Angeles, I learned at a very young age the value of hard work, public service and commitment to family. That's why I share President-elect Obama's belief in an America where if you work hard, anything is possible -- an America that values, rewards and -- hard work ”

“ Now, my top priority in this administration is going to be to create 2.5 million new jobs, and I want some of those jobs to be in the auto industry. And so my intention is to have my economic team work with not only auto management, but also the UAW, and -- and talk to workers and find out, what can we do in order to assure that their jobs are preserved, but not just for the next few months, that they're preserved for years to come and that a next generation of autoworkers are going to be put in place. ”

“ And if we do this right -- and it's not easy -- then what we can do is grow the economy, get it back on track over the first couple of years, and then we'll be in a position to make some tough choices, but we will have also laid the groundwork for long-term economic growth by transforming our energy economy, starting to make a downpayment in terms of making the health care system more efficient, investing in our young people through the schools. ”

“ A venture capitalist who invests in small businesses, Karen understands the challenges faced by both small businesses' owners and the workers they employ. With a background in the private sector and experience helping Maine's governor promote growth across the state, I am confident that Karen will lead an SBA that will not only help small business owners realize their dreams, but help our nation rebuild our economy.
We also know that the success of American businesses, small and large, depend on their ability to sell their products across the globe. ”

“ We must also enforce federal labor laws and strengthen regulations to protect our nation's workers, such as wage and hour laws, and rules regarding overtime pay and pay discrimination. Through these and other efforts, we can help strengthen one of America's greatest assets, its labor force. ”

“ I just want to make sure that when we see a -- a final restructuring package, that it's not just workers who are bearing the brunt of that restructure; that they're not the ones who are taking all the hits and others, who in the past have enjoyed a lot more of the benefits of the auto industry, somehow aren't being affected. ”

“ The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices, and begin the long-term restructuring that is absolutely necessary to save this critical industry and the millions of American jobs that depend on it, while also creating the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow. ”

“ Obama: Well, first of all, I'm concerned about the numbers that are being talked about. I -- you know, we're not intending to spend money lightly. You know, the tax burden on Americans are already high. We are going to be inheriting a deficit that is probably above a trillion dollars. ”

“ Throughout his career, Ray has fought to improve mass transit and invest in our highways. But he has not only helped rebuild our landscape, he's helped beautify it by creating opportunities for bikers and runners to enjoy our great outdoors. ”

“ It would have had devastating consequences for our economy and our workers. With the short-term assistance provided by this package, the auto companies must bring all their stakeholders together, including labor, dealers, creditors and suppliers, to make the hard choices necessary to achieve long-term viability. ”

“ Those are all going to be critical approaches and it's not going to happen overnight. You know, we've seen this cycle of jobs leaving for too long. It's going to take some time for us to reverse it. But I'm confident that with the leadership of the kind of people behind me today that we're going to be able to accomplish it. ”