ID :
29117
Sat, 11/08/2008 - 15:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/29117
The shortlink copeid
Obama pledges to take steps on economic crisis after taking office
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that he will take all necessary steps to confront the economic crisis immediately after taking office on Jan. 20.
"Immediately after I become president, I will confront this economic crisis
head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking
families, and restore growth and prosperity," Obama said in Chicago at his first
news conference after a historic landslide victory over Republican rival John
McCain Tuesday to become the country's first black president.
The president-elect stressed the need to come up with plans to help the middle
class with job creation and "a further extension of unemployment insurance
benefits."
"A fiscal stimulus plan that will jump-start economic growth is long overdue --
and we should get it done," he added.
The president-elect said he will review the US$700 bailout package to "protect
taxpayers, helping homeowners and not unduly rewarding the management of
financial firms that are receiving government assistance."
The unprecedented rescue package has been under fire for helping Wall Street
financiers with taxpayers' money rather than struggling homeowners facing massive
foreclosures.
"It is critical that the Treasury work closely with the FDIC, HUD and other
government agencies to use the substantial authority they already have to help
families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes," he said, referring to the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures bank deposits, and
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Obama also pledged to help reduce the hardship facing the U.S. auto industry,
which he described as the backbone of American manufacturing.
"I would like to see the administration do everything they can to accelerate the
retooling assistance that Congress has already enacted," he said. "In addition, I
have made it a high priority for my transition team to work on additional policy
options to help the auto industry adjust, weather the financial crisis, and
succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States."
Obama has said he opposes the pending free trade agreement with South Korea due
to the imbalance in auto trade in which South Korea exports 700,000 vehicles
annually while the U.S. exports 5,000. He has emphasized the need to reinvigorate
the U.S. auto industry so it can produce more fuel efficient cars than South
Korea and Japan.
The president-elect stressed that "the financial crisis is increasingly global
and requires a global response," but hinted that he will not attend the G20
financial summit next Saturday to address the current global economic crisis,
saying the U.S. has just one president at a time.
Reports said he might attend the summit to dispel concerns among foreign heads of
state about the viability of the commitment to be made by the outgoing Bush
administration.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
"Immediately after I become president, I will confront this economic crisis
head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking
families, and restore growth and prosperity," Obama said in Chicago at his first
news conference after a historic landslide victory over Republican rival John
McCain Tuesday to become the country's first black president.
The president-elect stressed the need to come up with plans to help the middle
class with job creation and "a further extension of unemployment insurance
benefits."
"A fiscal stimulus plan that will jump-start economic growth is long overdue --
and we should get it done," he added.
The president-elect said he will review the US$700 bailout package to "protect
taxpayers, helping homeowners and not unduly rewarding the management of
financial firms that are receiving government assistance."
The unprecedented rescue package has been under fire for helping Wall Street
financiers with taxpayers' money rather than struggling homeowners facing massive
foreclosures.
"It is critical that the Treasury work closely with the FDIC, HUD and other
government agencies to use the substantial authority they already have to help
families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes," he said, referring to the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures bank deposits, and
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Obama also pledged to help reduce the hardship facing the U.S. auto industry,
which he described as the backbone of American manufacturing.
"I would like to see the administration do everything they can to accelerate the
retooling assistance that Congress has already enacted," he said. "In addition, I
have made it a high priority for my transition team to work on additional policy
options to help the auto industry adjust, weather the financial crisis, and
succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States."
Obama has said he opposes the pending free trade agreement with South Korea due
to the imbalance in auto trade in which South Korea exports 700,000 vehicles
annually while the U.S. exports 5,000. He has emphasized the need to reinvigorate
the U.S. auto industry so it can produce more fuel efficient cars than South
Korea and Japan.
The president-elect stressed that "the financial crisis is increasingly global
and requires a global response," but hinted that he will not attend the G20
financial summit next Saturday to address the current global economic crisis,
saying the U.S. has just one president at a time.
Reports said he might attend the summit to dispel concerns among foreign heads of
state about the viability of the commitment to be made by the outgoing Bush
administration.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
