New Treasury chief signals bipartisan approach to policy challenges
Henry Paulson focused his first major speech since his confirmation on wage growth and uneven economic distribution.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday stated his intention to work in a bipartisan manner with Congress, pointing in particular to a desire to work with Democrats on entitlement reform.
Since lockstep Democratic opposition foiled President Bush's effort last year to overhaul the Social Security system, administration officials from the president on down have touted their eagerness to work with Democrats, who have long complained they were steamrolled by a united GOP as Bush put his earlier economic policies into place.
"My approach as Treasury secretary will be bipartisan," Paulson said in a speech at Columbia University in New York. Paulson's verbatim remarks were not immediately available, but the Treasury Department released a copy of his speech as prepared for delivery.
"In my early meetings in Congress, with Democrats and Republicans, I have communicated my sincere desire to work with both political parties to meet our long-term challenges," Paulson said. "The president has instructed me to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to find workable solutions," he added, saying, "These solutions should be built on what we can agree on, not what divides us."
Paulson signaled that he intends to take a broad purview from his perch at Treasury, venturing during his speech from traditional Treasury concerns like entitlement reform -- which he put at the top of his agenda -- into energy and trade policy. A well-known environmentalist, Paulson called for more energy conservation, along with increasing supply and investment in new technologies.
"Moreover, an energy policy that takes us toward greater energy security should also lead to cleaner air and cleaner water," Paulson said. But the speech as written did not mention what have been top Bush and Treasury priorities like tax reform and making estate tax cuts and earlier Bush tax cuts permanent.
Instead, Paulson focused on "wage growth and uneven economic distribution," indicating such ills could be addressed by education and maintaining productivity growth. "We still have challenges, and amid this country's strong economic expansion, many Americans simply aren't feeling the benefits," Paulson said.
Paulson confirmed Treasury policy in favor of a "strong" dollar. And he sought to position the country for more moderate economic growth in the future than the "simply not sustainable" rates that prevailed during the first quarter of 2006 and in recent years.