FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS February 17, 2005 Statement of Harold Damelin Chairman Grassley, Senator Baucus, and Members of the Committee on Finance, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and provide testimony. I am honored to be the President's nominee to serve as the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury. This is the second time President Bush has nominated me to serve in the United States Government. Since the Senate confirmed my previous nomination, I have served as Inspector General of the Small Business Administration for nearly two years. If you will permit me, I would like to take a moment to introduce the members of my family. My wife, Harriet, is here with me today. We are also blessed with two children, Scott and Rachel, their respective spouses, Fara and Rob, and three beautiful grandchildren, Leah, Rebecca and Max. By way of background, I was born and raised in the After leaving the United States Attorney's office in 1986, I spent the next nine years in private practice as a partner in two different law firms. I specialized in white-collar criminal defense, representing corporations and individuals in a wide variety of complex criminal and administrative proceedings. In addition, I counseled clients with respect to the formation and implementation of compliance programs. In 1995, I had the honor and privilege of being asked by Senator William Roth of Following my work with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee, Senator Fred Thompson of Upon completion of my work for the Special Investigation Committee, I returned once again to private practice for almost five years, where I continued to specialize in white collar criminal defense work until I was nominated by the President, and confirmed by the Senate in March of 2003, to serve as the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration. I believe the knowledge and experience I have gained over these past two years as the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration has further prepared me for new challenges I will surely face at the Department of the Treasury, if confirmed. At the Small Business Administration I have led a staff of about 100 people located throughout the country. During this time I have become familiar, and dealt directly with, the many issues faced by an Inspector General on a daily basis, and I believe that I have handled my duties and responsibilities in a highly professional and competent manner. I have also been pro-active. For example, I developed an organized effort within my office to identify and prosecute those individuals who fraudulently obtained SBA disaster loans in connection with the 9/11 tragedy. I understand that the responsibilities of the position to which I have been nominated are great. Based on the significant issues facing the Department of the Treasury, it is clear to me that assuming the leadership role of Inspector General will be a challenging assignment. With my diverse experience, I feel well prepared to assume the position. If confirmed, I welcome the challenges I will be facing and pledge to you that I will work hard every day to carry out my responsibilities. Mr. Chairman, thank you again for allowing me to appear here today, and I would be happy to answer any questions that you and other members of the Committee may have.
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