News/Lawmaker News

Geithner bucks up House Dem spirits

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the House Democratic Caucus that the Obama administration’s efforts to get the economy going will work.

“It will take some time,” Geithner said Monday, according to a Democratic source. “It will take some patience. We will work with you. But it will work.”

Geithner, appearing before the entire caucus, didn’t unveil any new programs to fix the economy, the source said. He stressed that the administration had already taken drastic steps.

“We’re doing in weeks what countries did in years,” Geithner said.

Geithner gave the Democrats some good news, noting that credit interest rates had fallen in past month.

Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) said that though Geithner offered little new, he was “connecting” with House Democrats by meeting with them on the Hill at 7:30 on a Monday evening.