Pelosi Comments on Economic Forum This Morning
'Good morning, thank you all for coming.'
'This has been a very special morning for us. We had the benefit of the thinking of some of the best minds in America on issues concerning the economy of our country. This New Direction Congress has placed growing and investing in our economy as a top priority.
'We began with raising the minimum wage to make sure that the prosperity of our country was shared by many more people. We passed into law, signed by the President, the COMPETES Act, our Innovation Agenda. Our commitment to competitiveness, to keep America Number One. To grow businesses and keep good paying jobs in America and to make us strong internationally from an economic standpoint.
'We held this forum this morning because of our concern about the effect of what's happening in the economy to ordinary people in our country, who feel the impact of economic change directly and immediately. I'm so pleased that we had a range of participants this morning. From former Secretary of the Treasury, Larry Summers, the former ambassador to France and great leader in the finance community in New York, Ambassador Felix Rohatyn, to the President of AFL-CIO, with representatives of business, the private sector, and academic world. The members of the Democratic House leadership, uncharacteristically sat silently by and listened to the wisdom of those we heard and then, of course, we did have questions.
'In the discussion, we were led by the very distinguished and able Chairman of the Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives, Barney Frank. We take pride in his leadership and the respect that he commands for the knowledge of these issues and the commitment to all of the American people and the knowledge of the impact of the economy on them.'
* * *
Outside participants at the forum were:
Jane D'Arista - Ms. D'Arista is the Director of Programs for the FinancialMarketsCenter. Before joining the Center's staff, she was Chief Finance Economist for the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance of the House Energy and Commerce Committee from 1983 to 1986.
Laurence D. Fink - Mr. Fink is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock. Prior to founding BlackRock in 1988, he was a member of the Management Committee and a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation.
William Hambrecht - Mr. Hambrecht is the founder and CEO of WR Hambrecht & Company, an investment company headquartered in San Francisco.
Eugene A. Ludwig - Mr. Ludwig is the Founder and CEO of Promontory Group, a suite of companies offering products and services to assist banks and other financial businesses. Prior to founding Promontory, he was Vice Chairman and Senior Control Officer of Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank.
Lawrence Mishel - Mr. Mishel is the President of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in 1987. As EPI's first research director, then as vice president, and now president, he has played a significant role in building EPI's research capabilities and reputation. He has researched, written, and spoken widely on the economy and economic policy as it affects middle- and low-income families.
Felix G. Rohatyn - Since 2006, Ambasssador Rohatyn has served as the Senior Adviser to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lehman Brothers Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. During the 1970s, he was the chair of New York's Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC) and helped the city avoid bankruptcy. From 1997-2000 he served as the U.S. Ambassador to France.
Lewis A. (Lee) Sachs - Mr. Sachs is a partner of Mariner Investment Group where he is Chairman of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining Mariner, he was CEO of Cornerstone Asset Management and until 2003, Vice Chairman of Perseus LLC, a merchant bank and private equity fund management firm. Mr. Sachs also served in the Clinton Administration as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Markets.
Allen Sinai - Mr. Sinai is the Founder, Chief Global Economist, and President of Decision Economics, Inc. (PDE), a global economic and financial advisory firm. He is also an adjunct professor of Economics and Finance in the Lemberg Program of International Economics and Finance at BrandeisUniversity.
Bill Spriggs - Mr. Spriggs is the Chair of the Department of Economics at HowardUniversity. From 1988 to 2004, he was Executive Director of the National Urban League's Institute for Opportunity and Equality. In 2004, he was awarded the Congressional Black Caucus Chairman's Award. Under President Clinton, he led the staff of the National Commission for Employment Policy (1993-1994) and worked at the Department of Commerce and the Small Business Administration.
Larry Summers - Mr. Summers served as Treasury Secretary under President Clinton (1999-2001). He is also President Emeritus of HarvardUniversity (2001-2006). From 1991-1993, before joining the Department of the Treasury, he served as Chief Economist at the World Bank.
John J. Sweeney - Mr. Sweeney is the President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). Prior to AFL-CIO, he served as President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). His trade union career began as a research assistant with the Ladies Garment Workers.