US President-elect Barack Obama has chosen a former Clinton Treasury Department official to head a new office monitoring how well federal programs are working.

He nominated Nancy Killefer to be in charge of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Obama also commented on predictions that the federal budget deficit could hit 1.2 trillion dollars in 2009.

Barack Obama, US President-elect, said, "Our problem is not just a deficit of dollars. It's a deficit of accountability, a deficit of trust. So change and reform can't just be election-year slogans. They must become fundamental principles of government. That's why the appointment I'm announcing today is among the most important that I will make. During the campaign, I said that we must scour this budget, line- by-line, eliminating what we don't need, or what doesn't work, and improving the things that do."

(CCTV January 9, 2009)