    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 10, 2006]
    [Pages 1357-1360]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Swearing-In Ceremony for Henry M. Paulson, Jr., as Secretary of the Treasury
    July 10, 2006

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. Good morning.
    Thank you for being here. I'm pleased to be here at the Department of
    the Treasury to stand in one of its most historic rooms. A hundred years
    ago, the vaults of the Cash Room were stacked from floor to ceiling with
    bank notes and coins and bullion--right here in this room. Today there
    is no longer any cash in this room; there's a lot of talent in this
    room. But this historic space reminds us of our responsibility to treat
    the people's money with respect. And in a few moments, Chief Justice
    John Roberts will swear in a man that
    every American can have faith in--Hank Paulson.
        Hank comes to his position with a lifetime of experience in business
    and finance. He has an intimate knowledge of global markets. He will
    work to keep this economy of ours competitive and growing, and he will
    work to ensure fair treatment for America's goods and services across
    the world.
        We welcome his family here--his wife, Wendy, and his mom, Marianna, his
    son, Merritt, and daughter,
    Amanda. And the other members of the Paulson
    family who have joined us, thanks for coming. We join them in
    congratulating Hank as he is sworn in as America's 74th Secretary of the
    Treasury.

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        I appreciate the Chief Justice
    joining us today. I appreciate the members of my Cabinet who are here to
    welcome your new colleague. I want to thank Deputy Secretary Bob
    Kimmitt and all the folks who work here at
    the Department of Treasury. You're getting a good boss. You're getting
    somebody you can work with and respect.
        I appreciate the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve; Chairman
    Bernanke is with us. Thanks for coming, Ben.
    All right if I still call you, Ben? [Laughter] I appreciate the House
    majority leader, John Boehner, joining us.
    Thanks for coming, John. I appreciate the ranking member of the House
    Budget Committee, Congressman John Spratt. Thanks for coming, John. I appreciate you all joining us
    here today. I want to thank my friend Don Evans, former Secretary of the Commerce, joining us. Welcome.
        The Treasury Department is one of the oldest in the Federal
    Government, and every person who leads this Department walks in the
    footsteps of our first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. In more--
    in the more than two centuries since he led this department, his role
    has expanded and his responsibilities have increased. Today, the
    Treasury Secretary is responsible for policies effecting global
    financial markets, international trade and investment, taxes and
    spending, and other issues of vital importance to America's ability to
    compete in a worldwide economy. The Treasury Secretary also oversees the
    minting of the U.S. currency, the management of public finances, and the
    enforcement of important laws, including our efforts to crack down on
    terrorist financing.
        As Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson will be my leading policy
    adviser on a broad range of domestic and international economic issues,
    and he will be the principal spokesman for my administration's economic
    policies. He is supremely qualified to take on these important
    responsibilities. He has served as chairman and chief executive officer
    of one of the world's leading financial firms, the Goldman Sachs Group.
    His decades of experience have given him a keen insight into the
    workings of our global economy. As he showed in his Senate confirmation
    hearings, he has the ability to explain complex economic issues in clear
    terms. People understand him when he talks. His nomination received
    strong bipartisan support. He was confirmed unanimously by the United
    States Senate.
        Hank is being sworn in in an optimistic time for our country and for
    our workers. In the first quarter of 2006, our economy grew at an annual
    rate of 5.6 percent. That's the fastest growth in 2\1/2\ years. We've
    added more than 5.4 million new jobs since August of 2003. The national
    unemployment rate is down to 4.6 percent. Consumers and businesses are
    confident in the future. Productivity is high. That's leading to higher
    wages and a higher standard of living for our people. And I look forward
    to working with Hank Paulson to keep this economy growing and to keep
    creating jobs and enhance opportunity for our people.
        We have a broad agenda to pursue. Our first challenge is to keep
    taxes low. Hank shares my philosophy that the economy prospers when we
    trust the American people to save, spend, and invest their money as they
    see fit. Hank understands that cutting taxes have helped launch the
    strong economic expansion that is lifting the lives of millions of
    Americans. And he will work with the United States Congress to maintain
    a progrowth, low-tax environment so we can keep our expansion growing.
        Our second challenge is to bring Federal spending under control.
    We'll continue to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending in the annual
    budget. Hank Paulson understands we also need to rein in the growth of
    spending for entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare and
    Medicaid. We have a problem with these programs. They're growing fast;
    they're growing at a rate faster than inflation, faster than the
    economy, and faster than we can afford.

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    If Congress does not act, these vital programs will be jeopardized and
    unfairly burden future generations. And so we'll continue to call on the
    Congress to work with us to preserve important programs, like Social
    Security and Medicare and Medicaid, for our children and our
    grandchildren.
        The third challenge is to expand opportunities for American workers
    and businesses to compete in a global economy. Hank understands that the
    fastest growing markets for American goods and services are overseas,
    and that so long as the playing field is level, American workers and
    businesses can compete with anybody. So we will work to open up new
    markets to American products and to ensure that our trading partners
    play by the rules and respect intellectual property rights and maintain
    market-based exchange rates for their currencies.
        Our fourth challenge is to prevent the Federal Government from
    burdening our economy with excessive regulations that will drive jobs
    and capital overseas. As one of the Nation's most accomplished
    investment bankers, Hank understands how important it is to maintain our
    openness to foreign investment and to keep America an attractive place
    to do business. So he's going to be a watchdog to prevent creeping over-
    regulation that burdens our economy and costs America jobs.
        Our fifth challenge is to keep America competitive by fostering a
    spirit that rewards innovation and risk-taking and enterprise. America
    is the most innovative nation in the world because our free enterprise
    system unleashes the talent and creativity of our people. Hank will be a
    champion for our country's small businesses and entrepreneurs. And he's
    going to work to ensure that the American Dream is within reach of every
    one of our citizens.
        As he pursues this agenda, Hank will build on the firm foundation
    laid by Secretary John Snow. John is a good
    fellow. He's a good man and a fine public servant. And he assumed
    leadership of this Department at a difficult time for our economy.
    During his tenure, John oversaw a strong economic resurgence that
    created millions of jobs for our families and made America's economy the
    fastest growing in the industrialized world.
        John has also been an important leader in
    the war on terror. He directed the Treasury Department's efforts to
    crack down on terrorist financing, including a vital program to track
    terrorists' use of the international banking system. John Snow has
    helped make America safer and more prosperous, and I'm grateful for his
    distinguished service.
        I'm also grateful that Hank Paulson has agreed to succeed
    John. He grew up on an Illinois farm. He rose
    to one of the highest positions on Wall Street, and now he's about to be
    sworn in as the Treasury Secretary of the United States of America. He's
    shown his talent and initiative as a leader in the private sector, and
    today he's showing his character and patriotism by leaving his career to
    serve our country. I'm grateful that Hank has answered the call to
    service.
        The men and women of this Department will have an outstanding leader
    in Hank Paulson. I look forward to working with--welcome him to our
    Cabinet. I'm looking forward to working with him for the good of our
    country. And now I ask Chief Justice John Roberts to administer the oath.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:15 a.m. at the Department of the
    Treasury. The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary
    also included the remarks of Secretary Paulson.

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