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Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama - As prepared fordeliveryAnnouncement of Nancy KilleferWednesday, January 7, 2009Washington, DC
Good morning.By now, we all know that we are facing a crisis in our economy, one that requiresimmediate and decisive action to spur the creation of new jobs as we lay thefoundation for future growth. And with the American Recovery and ReinvestmentPlan that Congress will soon be debating, we intend to deliver that change.But we committed to more change than that. We committed to change the way ourgovernment in Washington does business so that we’re no longer squanderingbillions of tax dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or existsolely because of the power of a lobbyist or interest group. We can no longerafford to sustain the old ways when we know there are new and more efficient waysof getting the job done.Even in good times, Washington can’t afford to continue these bad practices. Inbad times, it’s absolutely imperative that Washington stop them and restoreconfidence that our government is on the side of taxpayers and everydayAmericans.Just today, the Congressional Budget Office announced that the deficit we areinheriting for this budget year will be $1.2 trillion. And we know that ourRecovery and Reinvestment plan will necessarily add more. My own economicand budget team projects that, unless we take decisive action, even after oureconomy pulls out of its slide, trillion dollar deficits will be a reality for years tocome.But as I said yesterday, our problem is not just a deficit of dollars. It’s a deficit of accountability…a deficit of trust.
So change and reform can’t just be election-year slogans. They must becomefundamental principles of governmentThat’s why the appointment I’m announcing today is among the most important Iwill make.During the campaign, I said that we must scour this budget, line-by-line,eliminating what we don’t need, or what doesn’t work, and improving the thingsthat do.As the first Chief Performance Officer, working with Peter Orszag and Rob Naborsat the Office of Management and Budget, Nancy Killefer is uniquely qualified tolead that effort.For nearly thirty years – as a leader at McKinsey & Company, and as AssistantSecretary for Management, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer atTreasury under President Clinton—Nancy has built a career out of making majorAmerican corporations and public institutions more efficient, effective andtransparent.Nancy is an expert in streamlining processes and wringing out inefficiencies so thattaxpayers and consumers get more for their money. And during her time atTreasury, she helped bring the Department into the twenty-first century,modernizing the IRS and preparing systems for Y2K.But Nancy also understands that at the end of the day, government services aredelivered by people. That’s why she’s always worked tirelessly to empoweremployees to take matters into their own hands: to rethink outmoded ways of doingthings, to embrace new systems and technologies, and to take initiative indeveloping better practices.When Nancy was offered her first position at Treasury, she responded, “If you’rewilling to embrace significant change, then you’re looking at the right person. Butif you just want to keep the trains running on time, don’t ask me to do this job.”
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