Biden to chair economic meeting

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Biden to chair economic meeting
« Thread Started on Dec 23, 2008, 4:36am »

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Biden to chair economic meeting
Posted: 06:11 PM ET
By Ed Henry
CNN Senior White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Vice President-elect Joe Biden will chair a meeting of the transition team’s top economic advisers on Tuesday, as the incoming administration ramps up its efforts to piece together an urgent economic recovery package and to sell the expected $775 billion plan to Congress, CNN has learned.

Two Democratic officials told CNN the meeting at the Washington transition headquarters will include Lawrence Summers, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to chair the National Economic Council, a key policymaking arm within the White House that will be charged with formulating the new administration’s response to the financial crisis.

The fact that Biden is leading the meeting suggests the incoming vice president will play a key role in helping to pass the stimulus package. That’s significant because Biden’s low profile in recent days has sparked speculation that he will be sidelined in the new administration.

But Biden himself said during the campaign that he would focus more broadly on using his four decades of experience in the U.S. Senate helping Obama govern by moving legislation through Congress.