yourlove2011: GE's Immelt to head new White House jobs panel

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is restructuring his economic advisory board to place an emphasis on job creation, and he is naming General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt as its new head.

The new board, called the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, will replace the former Economic Recovery Advisory Board that had been chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Volcker has said he was ending his tenure on the panel when its mandate expires on Feb. 6..

The change signals Obama's intention to shift from policies that were designed to stabilize the economy after the 2008 financial meltdown to a renewed focus on increasing employment, a vexing task that could affect his re-election prospects. The White House says the board's mission will be to help generate ideas from the private sector to speed up economic growth and promote American competitiveness.

The advisory board has included past government officials and representatives from labor and the corporate world. Volcker has been a regular White House adviser, though the board itself has met infrequently with the president.

"Since my campaign for president, I have relied on Paul Volcker's counsel as we worked to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression," Obama said in a statement late Thursday. "Paul Volcker is not only one of the wisest economic minds in our country, he's an individual who has for decades fought for policies that help American families and strengthen our economy."

"I have valued his friendship and skill over the years, and I will rely on his counsel for years to come," Obama said.

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Immelt, in an opinion column in Friday's Washington Post, said he looked forward "to leading the next phase of this effort as we transition from recovery to long-term growth."

"Business leaders should provide expertise in service of our country. My predecessors at GE have done so, as have leaders of many other great American companies," Immelt wrote. "There is always a healthy tension between the public and private sectors. However, we all share a responsibility to drive national competitiveness, particularly during economic unrest. This is one of those times."

Immelt added: "My hope is that the council will be a sounding board for ideas and a catalyst for action on jobs and competitiveness."

Immelt was to join Obama in Schenectady, N.Y., Friday for an economy-related visit to a General Electric plant, where the president will showcase policies that have aided the multinational conglomerate. GE is a diversified technology, media and financial services company.

Immelt, a member of the economic recovery advisory panel, is announcing the reconstituted board in an opinion piece Friday in The Washington Post.

His appointment adds another corporate insider to the White House orbit, underscoring the White House's efforts to build stronger ties to the business community. Earlier this month, Obama named former commerce secretary and JPMorgan Chase executive William Daley as chief of staff.

Immelt has been a White House ally since the start of Obama's presidency, though his political contributions tend to be bipartisan and he financially supported Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republicans John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney during the 2008 presidential elections.

General Electric employees and their spouses, however, supported Obama over any other presidential candidate.

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