Vice President Joe Biden, along with several Department Secretaries in the Obama Administration gave their firm support today to President Obama’s strategy for creating green jobs to bolster the U.S. economy as part of the recently passed economic stimulus package.

The White House officials addressed the issue in Philadelphia at the first meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, which Biden is heading.

Biden said investing in green jobs could help build a strong middle class at a time when good jobs and good wages are harder and harder to come by.”

The green jobs were defined as those that provide products and services that use renewable energy resources, reduce pollution and conserve energy and natural resources. The stimulus jobs - which could be tens of thousands - pay 10 to 20 percent more than other jobs, according to the Council of Economic Advisers, Biden said.

Economic recovery is about more than making sure that Wall Street rebounds or the big banks survive, said Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who attended the meeting in Philadelphia today.

A true recovery means an economy that works for middle class families. That's why the Obama-Biden plan to invest in renewable energy and make our homes and businesses more efficient is so critical. We can create millions of new jobs, save families money on their energy bills and end our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, Chu added.

Also present at the event were Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak; Labor Secretary Hilda Solis; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Shaun Donovan; Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood; Education Secretary Arne Duncan; and Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, among others.

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