US President Barack Obama Friday named a team of leading economists to help him on the stricken economy as he continued to push the Congress to quickly approve his massive stimulus plan.

The new Economic Recovery Advisory Board, to be headed by Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman, will offer independent advice in regular briefings to the president, vice president and their economic team.

US President Barack Obama signs an executive order to establish the Economic Recovery Advisory Board in the East Room of the White House in Washington Feb. 6, 2009. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua]

Members will include former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson, TIAA-CREF President-CEO Roger Ferguson and Harvard University professor Martin Feldstein.

"I created this board to enlist voices to come from beyond the Washington echo chamber, to ensure that no stone is unturned as we work to put people back to work and get our economy moving," said Obama.

US President Barack Obama (1st R) speaks before signing an executive order to establish the Economic Recovery Advisory Board in the East Room of the White House in Washington Feb. 6, 2009. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua]

"I'm not interested in groupthink, which is why the Board reflects a broad cross-section of experience, expertise, and ideology," he said. "We've recruited Republican and Democrats; veterans of government and the private sector; advocates for business and labor."