[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 28 (Monday, July 17, 2006)]
[Pages 1302-1304]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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

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them in congratulating Hank as he is sworn in as America's 74th 
Secretary of the Treasury.
    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. Alright 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. 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

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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.