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From March, 2009 -

Six weeks after President Barack Obama appointed a blue-ribbon panel to help him dig America out of its economic crisis, the board has yet to hold an official public meeting.

The White House initially said that the 16-member Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, would meet “every few weeks.” Last month, a spokesperson told POLITICO the group would meet monthly. More recently, the White House said the high-powered board, set up to address what Obama has called the worst economic emergency since the Great Depression, would gather only about four times a year, with the next session due in “late spring.”

But comments from board members and Obama himself indicate that some members of the panel are meeting, in smaller gatherings that have not been announced or opened to the public. And that raises the question of whether an administration that prides itself on openness and transparency is in fact finding it more convenient to conduct public business in private.

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WASHINGTON — After a day to reflect on the landslide election that gave Republicans control of the US House, President Obama pledged to take the message from voters to heart, and “focus on the economy and jobs and moving this country forward,” promising to work with Republicans in coming weeks to have a productive lame-duck session before the new Congress is sworn in.

The president offered short remarks this morning after meeting with his cabinet.
Obama said the Congress must act to extend an expiring tax cut to middle class families — though Republicans want the cuts extended to all income levels.

“We’ve got to provide businesses some certainty about what their tax landscape is going to look like, and we’ve got to provide families certainty,” the president said. “That’s critical to maintain our recovery.”

The president also announced that he has invited all newly elected governors to the White House on December 2.

“I think it’s a terrific opportunity to hear from them, folks who are working at the state and local levels, about what they’re seeing, what ideas they think Washington needs to be paying more attention to,” he said.

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