Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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Remarks as prepared

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Introduction of Federal Reserve Board of Governors Chairman Alan Greenspan
American Enterprise Institute—U.S. Department of Labor Conference on Productivity
American Enterprise Institute
Washington, D.C.
October 23, 2002

Good afternoon.

Today, for the third time since becoming Secretary of Labor, I have the honor and pleasure of introducing the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Dr. Alan Greenspan.

Chairman Greenspan was kind enough to address the Summit on the 21^st Century Workforce that I convened immediately after becoming Secretary of Labor. Then, last winter, he spoke at our National Summit on Retirement Savings.

He’s been very gracious in giving his time to those of us who are concerned about the human face of the economy—jobs and workers. So it’s a delight to welcome him here today to talk about the productivity of the American worker and what it means to our economy.

As many of you know, Chairman Greenspan is in his fourth, four-year term as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. His steady leadership has earned him the trust and confidence of every President since Gerald Ford.

He has not only served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, but as Chairman of the National Commission on Social Security Reform.

But I suspect, most important for our audience today, is the fact that Chairman Greenspan is known as “the economist’s economist.” He is one of the most widely respected and honored men in his field.”

His views are particularly appropriate to our conference because the Chairman recognizes the correlation between productivity growth and economic growth. As transcripts of the Federal Open Market Committee indicate, Chairman Greenspan was one of the earlier identifiers of the emerging acceleration of productivity during the 1990s.

We are fortunate that Chairman Greenspan has agreed to give us his views on this important issue.

So please join me in warmly welcoming the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Dr. Alan Greenspan.

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