Safe thasgiving, it was far from the traditionalgathering with family and friends. I hope you had a good thanksgiving. We know times are tough but i wanted to know help is on the way. Last week i announced the nominations of staff for a critical Foreign Policy positions. The first rate team thats going to keep us safe and secure and today i have the pleasure of announcing key nominatis appointed to the critical economic positions that will lead this nation. A first rate team thats going to get us through this ongoing onomic crisis and helps build an economy not just better than it was before. A team thats tested and expeenced that includes groundbrking americans that come from different backgrounds and share my core vision of econic relief here in the United States of america. To give them a fair shot and equal ance, theres nothing beyond the capacity of the American People. Lets not forget who built this country, workingclass and middleclass people built this country and unions built the middle class. And from the most unequal economic csis and economic history we can builda new American Economy that works for all americans, not just some, all. We need to act now though and we need to work together. You know, in the weeks since nning the election Vice President hais and i have covered meetin with a numberf people. We convened meetings with lar leaders and ceos at the same time. Mayors and governors of both political parties. Theres a consensus out there that as we battle the covid19 disease we have to make sure that business and workers have the tls, resources and guidance and the health and Safety Standards to be able to operate safely. The goal is simple, to keep businesses and schools opening safely. But for millions of americans who lost their jobs and to claim unemployme, we have to deliver them immediate relief. That includes affordable healthcare, millions of people have lost it and are in danger of losing it. Childcare, sick lee, family leave so workers dont have to choose between work and family. Relief from rent and student loans. We neeto support Small Businesses and entrepreneurs who form the backbone of the communities that we live in that are teetering on the edge. So theres urgent need to fund states and cities so they can stay on those jobs. I could have gotten this lesson from the future secretary of treasury and theres a reason why all localities have to have a balanced budget that are allowed to run deficit in order toeal with crises and emergencies that as theyhave in the past and we have to keep Vital Public Services running. We have to give aid to local and state governments to make sure they can have Law Enforcement officers and educators as we begin the recovery act of 2009 but right now before congress should come together and pass a robust package for relief to address these urgent needs. A package passed in a lameduck session likely to be at best just a srt. My Transition Team is already working on and ill put forward in the next congress to address the multiple crisis we are facing especially for economic and covid crisis and theeam im announcing today will play Critical Role in shaping our plan for action stting on day one. And move fast to revive this economy. Its going to help the country layo might build back better plan, a plan that an independent analysis from moody a wellrespectedwall street firm predicted would create 18. 6 million jobs. s based on a simple proposition reward hard work in america. Not wealth. Its time to invest in infrastructure, clean energy, climate chan, manufacturing and somuch more to create millions of good paying jobs and its time we aress the structural inequities our economy as this pandemic h laid bare. Thomas called this location. Like the two lines coming off the k, some people are seeing their prospects should slow up while othersare watching their economic prospects drped sharply. For those at the top, jobs have come back and wealth is rising. Once luxury home sales are up over 40 percent compared to last year you but for those in the middle of the bottom, its a downward slide. Were figuringut how to pay the bills and put food on the table. Almost one in every six prinrs was hind in rent paymentsas ooctober. Luckily clear, when this team and others, will add in the weeks ahead that were going to create revery for erybody, for all. Were going to get this economy moving again. Were gointo create jobs, createncome, reduce junk prices and equity across the economy. Were going to restore the backbone of this country and middleclass. Everybody struggling like and i would say this, is on the way. My dad say this before when he loshis job in scranton when i was a kid. And eventually moved the faly not far from here to delaware, on the outskirts of wilminon. Used to say joey, the job is about a lot more than a paycheck. Its about your dignity. Its about respect and your placin the community. Its about being able to say honey, its going to beokay and mean it. He would also say joey, i dont expect the government to solve my problems but i do expect them tounderstand my prlems. His team understands. The secretary of the treasury and i am really plead to be able to dominateanet yellen that no one is bter prepared to deal with these crises and i wish it werent as much of a crisis she would be the first treasury secretary who is also chair of the federal reserve. By share of the federal reservand chair of the president s council on economic advisers is one of the most important economic figures of our time she spent her career focus on employment and the dignity of work and its important to me and all of us. She understandwhat it means to people and their communities whenthey have good decent jobs. Respect across being looked at by their neighbors and being respectmatters a lot. And respted across party lines and around theorld by main street and wallstreet. An educar, a mentor, the daughter of a workingclass brooklyn neighborhood who never forg where shecame from. Her husband george is pret good to. He won the nobel prize. Buthes the one that merida. [laughter] janet will be the first woman to hold this office. You might have to ask lynn manwell miranda who wrote the musical about the first secretary of the treasury hamilton to write another musical about the first secretary of the treasury area thats what im working on right now. For director of office of management and budget i nominate gary kenyon. Ive known her a long time, shes a brilliant policy mind across government. She was raised by a single mom on food stamps and from india who struggled and worked hard and did everything she could or her daughter to live out the american dream. And they did just that. She understands the struggle that millions of americans face. This will be the first woman of color from south asia, and i think that we also have another one in the United States of america and so look, ill be very serious. She should be in charge of laying out a budget to help us control the virus. The economic crisis and build back better. Build a wall she believes what ibelieve. If you flex our values. Again, quoting my dad people would say joe, let me tell you that and hes a high school educated guy, very well read. Its a dont tell me your values, show me your budget. Thats what youre going to do for me. Deputy secretary of the treasury i nominate adewale wally adeyemo. You know wally, i tell you what. Senator warren really likes you. She highly recommended you but i wasnt sure shed score you as well thank youfor being willing to do this. I take her advice on issues ranging from Consumer Protection and National Security to national affairs. I worked with wally during the Great Recession and that was my excuse senator. And i saw him one day job after another. As havinof National Security presidenobama, former chief of staff Elizabeth Warren where he helped create a Consumer Protection bureau for Financial Bureau which has done so much good. Itsesigned consumers from abusive financial practices. Wally will be the firs africanamerican ever to hold this pt in the highestranking africanamerican in the easury department and an immigrant from nigeria, the son of a school principal, wally understands everything we do is basically for the people, for the families and hardworking people. To understand the struggles and most of all their dreams, he understands both and i want to thank you wally for being willing to do this. For chairperson on the council of economic advisers i nominate, she was a distinguishedprofessor at princeton. My children who used to always kid about it but cecilia, shes one of the most distinguished economists in the country. An expert on labor economics, race and poverty andeducation , even public and international affairs. A member of the council of economic advisers to president obama and president clinton at the economic council, more than that shes a proud daughter whose mom, School Psychologist helped her pursue economics and her dad, one of the countrys first African American astrophysicists who dared her to dream. Shes done both. If confirmed she will be the first, excuse me, the fourth woman to leave the council on economic advisers and the first africanamerican ever to hold that post. And as cea chair she will serve as a member of my cabinet as well. As a member of the council of economic advisers we will also appoint jared bernstein, an old friendwhos been with me a long time and a brilliant thinker , heart as big as his head and heart he got from his mom, and educator who raised him correctly. A social worker turned economist, jared one of my closest economic advisers and friend served as my chief economist during the vice presidency. He was there in that foxhole during the Great Recession and he he brought the economy and our country back. I wouldnt think of anyone else who id want to be on my side to face the challenges ahead. Jared will be one of the leading voices in my head and menstruation on economic policy. I can count on him to deliver straight from the shoulder. E thing i can assure you is rking people always have a voice d jared and his counsel. As a member of e cocil of economic advisers i apint heather boushey. Thank you for all the help youve had in the Transition Team. Hes one of the foremost economists working to make sure we build an economy that works foall. The daughter of a union family, its no wonder she believes so deeply in the idea that leave no one out. Leave no one behind. During the campaign i relied on the council on addressing structuralnequities. And ill do so again as president because thats one of the central issues of our time. To this team, thank you for accepting the call to serve again. Your families and to your, i thank them for your sacrifices because its a real sacrifice. We cannot do this without you and to the American People, this team will always be there for you and your families. This is a familyriented team. Weve got to make sure ordinary people a chance to do well because they never were given a chance and will never ever let the country down. 11 years ago president obama and i participated in the Great Recession and influence in our recovery act disabled from the great depression. I didnt see a map of america at the time nor did he in terms of bluestates and red states. We only saw the United States of america. We worked with everyone, for everyone and on our recovery to rebuild together as one nation. President harris and i theyre already on day one. The United States senate, i hope these outstanding nominees will receive profiteering and we will be able to work across the aisle in good faith to move forward as one country area so lets begin the work to heal. To rebuild an economy for all america. They deserve and expect nothing less. Thank you, may god bless you. And may god protect our troops. I now turn this over to the new chief starting with our next territory of the treasury. Janet yellin and again, thanks foraccepting me. I think theyre going to clean the saw. Thank you mister president elect and madame Vice President. Its my great honor to have this opportunity to serve you and the American People. To join this incredible Economic Team at this moment of great challenge for our country. Mister president elect, when you reflect on what your fathers taught you about how we shall the job is more than a paycheck, i think of my own father who raised our family in workingclass brooklyn. When he graduated from medical school during the greatdepression , the looked for all in a place to hang his shingles with in the brooklyn docks. Back then terminal on the upper new york state with was a driving hub for manufacturing and transportation. And for the Union Workers who were dependent on them. Knowing no one kept cause, my father hold near a bus stop. He started his Family Practice in the basement where we lived on the floors above. At the end of the day, he would talk to me, my brother and my mom about whats work meant to his patients. Our friends and neighbors, especially if they lost a job , had financial problems, family problems, the health problems, the loss of dignity and selfworth. The value of work always stuck with me. So much so that i became an economist because i was concerned about the toll of unemployment on people, families and communities. And i spent my career trying to make sure people from work can achieve the dignity and selfworth that comes with it. Mister president elect, i know you feel the same. I felt that understanding during the last Great Recession and the recovery. And now were facing historic crises again. The pandemic and economic fallout that together have caused so much damage to so many that have had disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable among us. Lost lives, lost jobs, Small Businesses struggling to stay alive orclose for good. So many people struggling to put food on the table and pay bills and rent. Its an american tragedy. And its essential we move with urgency. Inaction will produce a self reinforcing downturn causing yet more attestation. We risk and obligation to address infrastructural problems. In inequality, staffing stagnant wages especially for workers who lack college education. Communities have seen industry disappear with no good jobs replacing lost ones. Racial disparities, job opportunities, Food Security and Small Business lending have denied communities of color. Gender disparities to keep women out of work and keep our economy from running at full force. Its a convergence of tragedy that is not only economically unsustainable but one that betrayed a commitment to giving every american an equal chance to get ahead. But i know this team will never give up that commitment. As you said before mister president elect, out of our collective pain as a nation we will find elective purpose to control the pandemic and build our economy back better than before. To rebuild our infrastructure and create better jobs. To invest in our workforce, to advance Racial Equity and equity and make sure the economic recovery includes everyone. To address climate crisis, with American Ingenuity and american jobs. Working together with the outstanding National Security or foreignpolicy team, we would announce last week to help restore americas global leadership. And above all, we share your belief in the american dream. Its a society where each person with effort can rise to their potential and dream even bigger fortheir children. I pledge this as treasury secretary to work every day towards rebuilding dream for all americans. And to the great Public Service of the Treasury Department i look forward to working with you and wally to rebuild thepublic trust. If the American People, we will be an institution that wakes up every morning thinking about you. Your jobs, your paychecks , your struggles. Your hopes, your dignity , and your limitless potential. Thank you. Mister president elect, madame Vice President elect, im humbled and honored the trust you placed in me to work with this talented team on behalf of the American People. And especially proud to work alongside leaders who understand that numbers are not obstructions, they are a function of ourvalue. They touch our lives in profound ways and sometimes they make all the difference. Like the Vice President elect mother, my mother mile was born in india. Like so many millions suppressed every generation she came to america to pursue a better life. I was raised in a suburb of boston, middleclass kid. But when i was five, my parents got divorced and my mom was left on her own with two young children. Without a job. She faced a choice, returned to india for a time, and the opportunities for her and her children would belimited. Or fighting for her american dream. She stayed. America came through for her when times were tough. We relied on food stamps to eat. We relied on section 8 housing vouchers to pay the rent. We relied on a safetynet to get back on her feet. This country day for a fair shot. To reach the middle class and she made it work. She got a job as a travel agent and before long, she was able to buy us our own home in massachusetts and eventually, she see her children off tocollege and beyond. I am here today thanks to my mother grit but also, thanks to the country that had faith in us that invested in her humanity and in our dream. Im here today because of social programs, because of budgetary choices, because of a government that saw my mothers dignity and gave her a chance area now it is my profound honor to help shape those programs to lift americans up and pull family back from thebreak. It is to give everybody a fairchance. That every Single Person deserves. Thats the america my aunt were drawn to, the america that president elect and Vice President elect are waiting to grow. I believe so strongly that our government is deserves all the American People. Republican, democrats and independents alike, all of whom deserve to know our government has their back. I look forward to working together alongside the dedicated career professionals of the omb to extend possibilities for every american family. And i want to thank my own wonderful family, my husband then without whose love and support there would simply not be here and our children selena and david. Thank you all for this profound opportunity to serve. Mister president elect, Vice President elect, thank you for this profound opportunity to return to the treasury deparent and serve the american peoe. I know firsthand the president electcapacity to lift our countryout of the hard tes. We had the privilege of working with him to help amicans recover from the Great Recession. In californias inland empe where grew up, the Great Recession hit hard. We were one of the foreclosure capitals of the United States. The pain of this is real for me, itasnt just numbers in a report for stories on the nightly news. But neighbors and fries who lost everything. I was proud of the work i got to do the financial Protection Bureau with to protect American Consumers at the Treasury Department helping to grow the us economy. Was proud also of getting a chance to serve with leaders li the president elect who oversaw the recovery act and implementation investing in american workers, bettinon their resilience and drive and giving famils a chance to get up off the mat. I believe ats what Public Service is all about expects. Giving people a fair shot when they need imost. Offering hope in dark times and making sure that our economy works not just f the wealthy but for the hardworking people who make it run. Those are lessons i learned from my parents and Elementary School principal and nurse who came to america to build better life for me and my siblings. They taught us we have a responsibility to serve our community and the country that gave us so many opportunities. But i also learned how much mo needs to be done to ensure that everyone has a ir chance they deserve. Clasi look forward to working th janet yellen to reduce inequity in this country and make sure th we built an economy that work foreveryone. And as we build back better areawe must also remain laser focused on the Treasury Departments political rule protecting our National Security. This includes using our ability to hold bad actors accountable, dismantling the territories and others who seek to do us harm and ensuring our investment policy protects americas National Security interests. The challenges bore us are unlike anything weve ever faced. But i know what the president elect said is true. The American People can do anything when given a chan area and i am honored to be a part of this talented team and the work with them and all the americaneople to build an economy that gives everyone a chance and turns our nation once again on crisis to hope. Thank you. Good afternoon. Mister president elect, madame Vice President elect. Thank you for this extraordinary opportunity to join this team. I am humbled and honored and ready to get to work for the American People. To be perfectly honest, until recently i did not anticipate i would return toPublic Service. As every academic knows, when you lay down roots at the school you love with incredible students and colleagues youve grown with it isnt easy to take a leave. It requires a rare combination of urgency and opportunity to pull you away. But that rare accommodation is precisely what our nation is facing right now. My path as an economist began my first year of college. My mother encouraged me to take a course in economics and it happened to coincide with at the time was one of the worst blights and unemployment during the great depression. It was impossible for me to separate what we were learning with from what i know was going on in towns across the country. So i found myself drawn to the study of the labor market in all of its dimensions. The reasons that justices care, the impact of people and the way we can tear down barriers to job growth and make it easier for people to find longlasting economic security. Today, nearly 40 years later we are once again living through one of the worst job crises since the great depression. Millions of families have had their lives turned upside down. The safety net has freed leaving vulnerable americans in hardship and hopelessness and its structural inequities that have always existed in our economy are being exacerbated like never before. These are the moments of in urgency and opportunity unlike any we faced in modern times to read the urgency of ending a devastating crisis and the opportunity to build a better economy in its wake. An economy that works for everyone, brings fulfilling job opportunity and leaves no one to fall through the cracks. I look forward to working with the president elect and Vice President elect in this amazing Economic Team to address that urgency and seize that opportunity and make our Economic System work better for every american. Thank you. Good afternoon. Im hardpressed to find words to express my gratitude as president elect and Vice President elect for thechance to be here today. In thinking about the path that brought me here a good place to start is 12 years ago almost to the day when i met with then Vice President elect den at his home not far fromere. It was supposed to be a Job Interview to be his chief economist but it quickly turned into a conversation about Economic Justice and fairness which as many here know the common destination and conversation with the president elect, over the years weve continued that discussion. Often it takes the form of policy minutia and sometimes its hitting him with four more graphic steps that ar necessary for him telling me stop speaking economies and art speaking english. I expect the reason we have such a meeting of the minds back then back to a common saying in my household that as i was growing up. If youre not part of the solution youre part of the problem. I grew up as a single mother, a lifelong educator. There was a big picture of fdr on the wall. My proudest moment was local 802, the new york Physicians Union but thats a whole other story. Of course if you intento be part of the solution you need toccurately diagnose the problem. In that regard i think president and Vice President lx agenda is timely, resonant and visionary. Yes, they stressed the urgent need to control the virus and provide the relief needed to help famies and businesses get to the other side of crisis. s just as adamant that simplyetting back to where we were is t low, we must build back an onomy thats far more resilie, far more fair and far more ilusive. It is precisely the vision this nation needs and i suspect im not thonly person on this stage choing at the bit to get to work on making their vision a reality. Thank you. Mister president elect and madame Vice President elect, i am honored and very gratefulor the chance to be part of is absolutely exceptional te and im excited to get to work helping build an economy rooted in the values that we share. Equality, opportunity and the dignity of work. Itso accident that i focused my carr on instilling thesealues in our economy. Developing policies that help our nation grow stronger by growing more equitable. Like the president elect and Vice President elect, those values were instilled in me at a young age. During the 70s my dad t a job at boeing and if you came from seattle like i did, a lot more than a paycheck was referenced and as the president so oen reminds us. For our family my dad a job insecurity. Meant union benefits, a place in the neighborhood, a place in the middle class. But when the recession hit in the early 1980s, one by one that survived for every family in our coldest sack. Everybody had a parent was laid off and we saw our future dim and then it was my turn. For the first time i truly expericed this pain called the econy it was my turn cutting down and explaining there was going to be no supper for a while because my dad was on layoff. Too many kids in america experienced the economy through those kinds of difficult conversations, or far worse. I was struck by the profound power this Mysterious Force held over my life my friends and my community and i wondered if that power couldnt also be wielded to have a real conversation. I decated my career to figuring out how we could grow and sustain the middle class and uproot the gender barriers and racial barriers that leave too Many Americans outside the dream looking in. Through the organization i counded i put forth solutions to bring us back to the core values of what we shared insuccess. Thats the same value i see at the heart of the build back better plan and its why im so excited and honored to help this team bring not just good jobs but the good lives and peace of mind that comes with them to every american communy. Thank you. Mister president elect, congratulations on choosing an Outstanding Team of brilliant minds, and Economic Team that is the right team for this moment. As your nominee and appointee, thank you for your continued sense of timing. This is the team we need to deliver immediate Economic Relief to the American People , to get our economy back on track and to make sure it works for working people. And as president elect biden noted earlier , completing that task could not be more urgent. Cases of covid19 are spiking and beyond the traffic lines, the toll continues to mount. Across america, one in six adults with children saytheir families are hungry. Janet yellin talks about Food Insecurity and facing a hunger crisis in america. One in three adults are having trouble paying their bills. Essential bills, the bills that need to be paid at the end of every month to get to the next month. And the number of open as mrs. Has fallen by 30 percent due to this pandemic. While many others are hoping they can stay afloat until a vaccine is available. These are the struggles, the worries that keep people up in the middle ofthe night , that have them sitting at the Kitchen Table past midnight trying to figure out how theyre goingto make it work. But americans are not united by their worries alone. They are also united by their aspirations. The aspirations they have for themselves, for their children, for their families and for their community. Because no matter where you live or what language you speak, Everyone Wants to be able to get a job and keep a job. No matter what your gender or who you love, Everyone Wants to be able tobuy a home and keep a home. And no matter how you worship or who you voted for in this election, Everyone Wants to be able to give their children a decent education and allow those children to pursue their dreams, even during a pandemic. And joe and i understand that. We were raised to respect the dignity of work. We were raised by hardworking parents who always understood the dignity of work and the potential not only for their children but of our country. And thats why ive always fought for working people, standing up for middleclass families who lost their homes through the Great Recession. Wally, you talked about that and those in california were devastating but they were able to rely on their government and the leaders that joe also talks about who needed to see their conditions and that condition and thats the work that needs to happen now. And i look forward to collaborating with this Extraordinary Team to put working people front and center in our administration. These Public Servants are some of americas most brilliant minds. They are proven leaders whose talents, achievements and life stories, their life stories reflect the story of the American People and their stories reflect the very best of our country. They not only have the experience, the expertise and what is necessary to help and this economic crisis but also what is necessary to put people back to work and they also share in our commitment to building an economy and america where everyone has access to a higher minimum wage and affordable healthcare, paid family leave and paid sick leave, Home Ownership and capital to smart start a Small Business. In america where opportunity is within reach for everyone. For all the people. So weve got a lot of work to do to build that america and as joe always says, to build back better and president elect biden and i together with this Economic Team will be ready to hit the ground running on day one because that is what this crisis demands and that is what the American People deserve. Thank you. With joe biden as president elect we will see live coverage of the election and transition of power. Cspan your unfiltered view ofpolitics. The u. S. Senaten a break for weekly party caucus meetgs