dr. alan krueger has been nominated to be chair of the council of economic advisers. the caa is an agency charged with providing the present economic advice, and there is no more crucial time. dr. alan krueger is an accomplished labor economist. given his expertise in the labor market dynamics, i would be interested in hearing what policies he will advocate at the white house. after more than two years of failed keynesian programs, i believe the president needs to be provided with better advice that will help grow our economy, not the size and scope of government. the committee will also be considering today the nomination of mr. david montoya. to be the inspector general of hud.director -- of t he has spent many years in law enforcement. i would be interested in hearing how you would apply your skills and background in the investigative and legal activities required of the office. the inspector general's are tasked with rooting out fraud and abuse, as well as promoting transparency and protecting the taxpayers. for example, hud's office of inspector general most recen

dr. alan krueger, we are talking about a variety of important issues. what would you summarize the economic policy changes but we face? >> fundamentally, we face weak demand. consumption has been growing at a modest pace. we have a lot more capacity to produce than people are willing to buy 10 right now. that slack capacity shows up in unemployment numbers. it shows up in the capacity utilization numbers. so, fundamentally, i think we need to strengthen demand. some of that could come out by people becoming more confident that their jobs are more secure, that they can buy purchases they have put off. some of it could come about by focusing our measures amazing job growth, so people have more income. the diagnosis that i have of the economy the the number one problem has been weak demand. >> i think the witnesses -- thank you for your testimonies and your witnesses -- willingness to serve the nation. i ask all members of the committee to submit questions for the record by close of business on tuesday, september 27, and would request that the witnesses su