Obama names budget director to guide reform

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-26-2008 09:10

US President-elect, Barack Obama, has named Peter Orszag as his budget director.

Obama said Orszag's job will be to conduct a thorough review of federal spending programs and eliminate programs that are not needed.

Peter Orszag, the current director of the Congressional Budget Office, smiles as he listens to President-elect Barack Obama speak about choosing Orszag as his choice for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OBM) during a news conference in Chicago, November 25, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)

With the economy in crisis, Obama said budget reform is not an option, but a necessity. His comments on careful spending came a day after he declared that restoring the economy's health took priority over the budget deficit.

He called on Congress to prepare an economic stimulus program for him to sign as soon after Inauguration Day as possible.

Defining the two objectives that will guide his economic program, Obama said his administration wants to jump-start the economy but also make sure that those investments do not waste taxpayers' money.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei