FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The Treasury Department will announce the government's quarterly refunding needs on Wednesday, January 30, 2002. The procedure for releasing this information has been modified to improve the timeliness and transparency of the announcement.

At 9:00 a.m. EST, the Treasury Office of Public Affairs will post the relevant documents on the Treasury web site (http://www.treas.gov) The information will be delivered to credentialed members of the media in the Treasury Pressroom at 8:45 a.m. with lock-down embargo rules enforced until 9:00 a.m. A member of Treasury's Office of Public Affairs will instruct media in attendance of the embargo rules and procedures upon delivery of the documents to the Treasury Pressroom. The traditional practice of making the quarterly refunding announcement at a news conference has been discontinued.

The relevant documents are:

1. The Treasury Department's policy statement
2. The Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee's (BAC) Report to the Secretary
3. Minutes of the BAC's January 29, 2002 meeting
4. The Bureau of Public Debt's auction announcements covering securities to be issued February 15, 2002

Following the posting of the relevant documents on the Treasury web site, a senior Treasury official will be available to take questions from credentialed media at 9:30 a.m. in Room 3327 at the Treasury Department, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. No broadcast equipment will be permitted at the briefing.

On Tuesday, January 29, 2002, the economic briefing and presentation on Treasury's financing needs will occur as usual at 9:00 a.m. The briefing will be held in Room 3327 at the Treasury Department.

Members of the media without Treasury or White House press credentials should contact Frances Anderson in Treasury's Office of Public Affairs at 202-622-2960 by 8:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, January 29, 2002 with the following information: full name, media organization, contact phone number, social security number and date of birth. This information may also be faxed to 202-622-1999. On Wednesday, January 30, 2002, media credentials must be shown to gain entry to the briefing room.