WASHINGTON –- When U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was sworn into office in July 2006, he brought with him a reputation for working tenaciously to overcome all obstacles in the way of a deal.
Now, with nearly a year’s worth of experience under his belt, the 61-year old former Wall Street executive — he was chief executive officer for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. —is learning there’s no such thing as a quick fix on Capitol Hill.
As an example of Paulson’s new posture, he was quoted as saying in an interview after his talks with Chinese officials that none of the challenges "avail themselves to a quick fix, but all of them we can make progress on.”
He also conceded that his talks resulted in only "incremental” gains.
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Nominated by President Bush in June 2006 to be the 74th secretary of the Treasury, Paulson has received high marks from legislators on both sides of the aisle for his tenacity and efforts.
Democratic Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, for example, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee trade panel, described Paulson as being "a person of very good will.”
As well-meaning as his intentions have been, though, Paulson has lately taken to framing major issues in terms of action in the future as he’s increasingly found himself faced with mounting difficulties in striking deals.
While stressing that his dialogue with China has yielded progress, Paulson’s also said China isn’t moving fact enough in reducing its dependence on exports.
The Treasury secretary has also been frustrated with the lack of progress in Social Security reform. In his first speech as Treasury secretary in August, Paulson identified the growing cost of the program as one of the biggest risks facing the U.S. economy, and he promised to deal with the problem head-on.
However, his optimism was soon dashed after Vice President Dick Cheney stated during a television interview in January that President Bush remains opposed to tax increases, which Democrats say would be an essential part of any agreement.
Paulson may have been accustomed to steering things when he worked at Goldman Sachs, but in less than a year as Treasury secretary he’s learned it’s a different set of rules in Washington, D.C.
Editor's note:
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