Daniels Upbeat About Governors' Meeting With President-Elect Obama

Press Release

Daniels upbeat about governors' meeting with President-elect Obama

Governor Mitch Daniels said today he is generally supportive of federal financial incentives that could be used to put more people to work in Indiana. Daniels was among the nation's governors who met with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden today in Philadelphia to talk about how national economic trends are affecting states.

"I think we ought to have our eyes open-that these steps come with a cost and therefore let's try to make certain that they are well conceived, that they are really aimed not at bailing out excesses in states that should have known better, but aimed at putting people to work," said Daniels, upon returning to Indianapolis this afternoon. "I'm supportive of people in politics who campaign on programs and who are serious about their enactment. I think there are some ideas that can help the economy. I simply hope that will be the sole objective of the package, to strengthen the economy and put people to work for a long time, to create assets that continue to put people to work, as we have done in Indiana. In general, that's what I think I heard today that the administration hopes to do," said the governor.

Daniels said much of the conversation during the one and a half hour meeting was about infrastructure and its importance to the economy.

"The heart of this legislation will be investment in infrastructure, and Indiana may be better fixed than any other state, but we have plenty of other projects, and we can put it to good use in Indiana," said Daniels. "Even though we are in much stronger shape, even though we had the Major Moves success, there is still more to do and we could put it to work very quickly. If it comes with fewer strings we'll put it to work even more quickly and get more miles and bridges out of it."

Overall, Daniels said the meeting was a very positive sign of President-elect Obama's willingness to work with states.

"I want the administration to succeed. I want their plan to work," said Daniels. "President-elect Obama is a very smart guy and he's very thoughtful. I had the impression that he really was paying attention."

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