FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Thank you Ivan (Seidenberg). Please stay here for a moment so I can present you with this certificate appointing you Chair of the Greater New York Savings Bond Campaign. And, thank you and the members of your committee for taking leadership for the savings bond effort here in New York.

I'd also like to thank Richard Carrión, of Banco Popular for leading our national effort to encourage Americans to save and invest, and make savings bonds an integral part of their financial plans. Richard has also been playing a key role in working with us here at Treasury in our efforts to provide banking services to those who have been under-served. I know first-hand how important your work, and the work of the committee is from two perspectives: first, as a volunteer member of this committee a decade ago, and now as Treasury Secretary.

Now, I'd like to recognize two companies for their achievements in last year's campaign by presenting them with Treasury's Golden Eagle award. First I'd like to recognize Johnson&Johnson for its achievement. Will Russ Deyo join me so I can present the award. With 83 percent of their employees buying bonds, J&J is the country's participation leader. Great Job!

Next is Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Will Joseph Reali come forward. Met Life has 52 percent of their employees buying bonds. Thank you for your tremendous support.

You are all here today because you believe in the savings bond program, and the larger goal of financial security for America's families. I salute you for working to expand financial security to more and more Americans.

Financial security is at the foundation of the President's agenda for the nation. First, he has made education his number one priority, because a good education is the basis for economic success. Second, he's put together a budget that grows family budgets by trimming wasteful Washington spending and letting working American's keep more of what they earn. Finally, he's announced he will form a Social Security commission to ensure personal retirement security for all Americans.

It was clear to me from the day I first met with George W. Bush to discuss joining his Cabinet that he is a serious man who believes deeply in the goodness of America and what we can achieve. That was clear to me from the day I first met with him to discuss joining his Cabinet. We talked about principles and policies and means, beginning with education. The principle is "no child left behind." And he's intent on putting the policies and resources in place to achieve that goal.

When all our children are receiving the best possible education, they'll be ready to join and succeed in a vibrant economy, achieving greater financial security for themselves and their families.

The President's tax relief plan also will enhance financial security for all Americans. The typical family will keep $1,600 more of their hard-earned money. And cutting tax rates will help grow the economy, creating more investment and more jobs.

The President is moving his tax cut plan through the Congress faster than anyone would have thought possible. In January, the conventional wisdom in Washington held that the Congress couldn't pass a tax cut before September. The President wouldn't accept that timetable - he insisted we get money back in people's pockets as soon as possible. And Congress has responded. The House has already passed several elements of the President's tax relief plan. In the Senate both Republicans and Democrats have embraced a minimum of $1.3 trillion in tax relief, accelerated to this year.

If we don't send the tax surplus back to the taxpayers, it will be spend in Washington. The President believes that families know better how to spend and save their hard-earned income. We're cutting taxes to increase family budgets instead of increasing Washington's budget.

The President is looking ahead - not just at how to increase family budgets today but also how to increase retirement security in the future. We need to give every working American the opportunity to take the initiative now, and save to enjoy those retirement years. Millions of Americans depend on Social Security, it is a social contract between the generations that we must honor and we will honor. For too long, Washington has shied away from this difficult issue.

I remember going before the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1973 with George Shultz who was then-Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He told the Committee that we needed to fix Social Security before it led to an intergenerational fight between the young and the old because the system could not be sustained as the age balance in our population shifted. That was twenty-eight years ago - and time to make necessary changes is running out.

Standing alone against the pundits' advice that he should not say anything about Social Security in his campaign, President Bush championed the cause of long-needed reform. He has announced that he will create a commission to develop the framework we need in order to put specific legislative recommendations before the Congress. The President will keep us focused on this issue and we will produce a good result for the American people; quicker and better than the naysayers expect.

We're not going to wait until we are on the brink of disaster to solve this problem. One of the reforms we will consider is setting up voluntary personal accounts within Social Security to allow people to save for their retirement years.

Personal savings is another pillar of retirement security. Individuals should have many options, and design their savings plans to suit their individual needs. I'm not going to give you investment advice -- the exact mix of where you place your savings, be they for retirement or for other goals like educating your children, depends on where you are in life. But it's clear that Savings Bonds can play a role in anchoring a portfolio so it can hold steady in shifting markets.

Treasuries have provided just such an anchor for more than two centuries. And our plans to reduce the debt make sure that savings bonds, which play an important role in encouraging people to save, continue to be part of out financing mix. Savings Bonds are the Treasury securities accessible to just about everyone.

We're working hard at Treasury to make Savings Bonds and our other securities even more accessible and easy to buy. Saving bonds are available:

• over the Internet,
• through an automatic purchase arrangement by preauthorized debit to your bank account we call EasySaver,
• through payroll savings where you work, and;
• as always through banks and thrift institutions.

We're not here today only to extol the virtues of Savings bonds. We're here today to honor the broader mission of the Savings Bonds Program- and the work that all of you do as part of the program -- spreading the word and teaching the importance of saving and investing.

Financial security can't just be handed out from Washington. We can only create the environment and the tools that enable more individuals to achieve financial security. Government can foster the environment for sound, sustainable economic growth through prudent fiscal and tax policy but it is the energy and creativity of the American people that create the products and services that make the economy grow.

Individual Americans must make the decision to save for their future - and their children's future. Saving allows families to improve their standard of living over time, and move up the economic ladder of success. I thank all of you for the work you do improving the lives of families across America by teaching them to save.