Bush Nominates Paulson to Lead Treasury

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English ECONOMICS REPORT.

President Bush has named Henry Paulson Junior to replace John Snow as the secretary of the Treasury.  Mr. Paulson is the chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, a leading American investment bank.

President Bush announced his decision Tuesday at the White House. Mr. Bush said the nominee has a deep knowledge of financial markets.  He said Mr. Paulson would be his main adviser on a wide group of economic issues.

Henry Paulson has led Goldman Sachs for seven years.  During that time, the stock price of the company has grown by more than one hundred percent.  Mr. Paulson earned almost forty million dollars at the company last year.

Employees of Goldman Sachs have served in the administrations of both political parties.  Robert Rubin, another former top official of the company, served as Treasury secretary in the Clinton Administration.

The present White House chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, is another former Goldman Sachs employee.  He played a large part in getting Mr. Paulson to accept the nomination as Treasury secretary.

Mr. Paulson is considered to be a business leader without ties to the Bush administration.  His nomination must be confirmed by the United States Senate.

In accepting the nomination, Mr. Paulson said major economies around the world are increasingly linked.  But he noted the world looks to the United States to drive growth.  He said America must continue to compete economically, providing a free and open market. Experts say Mr. Paulson will face pressure to reduce spending and limit the budget deficit.

Mr. Paulson also serves as chairman of the board of the Nature Conservancy.  The group seeks to save wildlife and wild lands from development.

Henry Paulson was born in Palm Beach, Florida in nineteen forty-six.  He grew up on a farm in Illinois, which he still owns. He earned a business degree from Harvard University.  Mr. Paulson worked at the Defense Department and in the Nixon Administration in the early nineteen seventies. He has worked for Goldman Sachs since nineteen seventy-four.

This VOA Special English ECONOMICS REPORT was written by Mario Ritter.  Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com.  I'm Steve Ember.