Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Edward P. Lazear was sworn in as chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers on Monday, March 6 in Washington, D.C.
In attendance at the ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building were President George W. Bush; Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce; Joshua Bolten, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, members of Lazear's family, and other government officials.
In comments delivered during the ceremony, President Bush noted that Lazear "is an award-winning economist from Stanford University. He's been a part of the Hoover Institute. He's taught and lectured in Asia and the Middle East and Europe. He's advised governments in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe on economic reform. He's conducted path-breaking research in the field of labor economics. He's applied his theories to real-world problems like education, and immigration, and compensation, and productivity. He's well-rounded, and he's plenty smart.
"He also understands how to get his message across. After all, he was voted teacher of the year at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. That's not an easy accomplishment. He's a founding editor of the Journal of Labor Economics. He's a good man, who has served with distinction before in government. He served on my advisory panel on federal tax reform. And he's going to be an outstanding Chairman of my Council of Economic Advisers."
Lazear commented: "There are challenges ahead, but we have a solid foundation on which to build. Mr. President, I look forward to assisting you in keeping the American economy strong. To that end, I will devote all of my energy to ensuring that the Council of Economic Advisers provides you with the best economic analysis possible."
Lazear was nominated to the chairmanship of the Council of Economic Advisers in late 2005 and was confirmed in February.
While at the Hoover Institution, he was the Morris Arnold Cox Senior Fellow.
To see the transcript of the ceremony and full comments, click here.
