Biden to Lead Task Force on Issues of the Middle Class

[struggle4progress]

Group's Goal: Raise Standard of Living For Working Families
By Anne E. Kornblut and Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 31, 2009; Page A03

... "This task force, I might add -- which coming out of the vice president's office will be a bit unique -- will be fully transparent," Biden said as President Obama stood by his side ...

Biden made his first prominent White House appearance Friday with the launch of the Middle Class Working Families Task Force, billed as a "major initiative targeted at raising the living standards of middle-class, working families in America." Although the term "task force" is often coded language for a group that tackles an issue on which an administration hopes to postpone taking direct action, Obama administration officials said that this one was designed to have heft: In addition to Biden at the helm, it includes the secretaries of labor, health and human services, education and commerce, the directors of the National Economic Council, the Office of Management and Budget and the Domestic Policy Council, and the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Officials said they did not know how big the task force's budget will be, but they stressed that it will deliver its conclusions directly to the president. Asked whether the task force will have real power, an administration official said the "teeth come from our ability to elevate these issues to the level of the White House." The task force is expected to recommend specific pieces of legislation and executive orders that Obama can issue, and in addition to publishing its findings on a new Web site, will hold public meetings, the first in Philadelphia on Feb. 27 ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/30/AR2009013003810.html?hpid=topnews

[Hugin]

1. Great person for the job!

:)