FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Let me start by thanking Principal Reeves, Mrs. Dixon and Mr. Neal for their thoughtful remarks and introduction. Let me also thank the Eastern Choir.

I am pleased to return to Eastern High School, with which Treasury has had a productive partnership for the last three years. Over the last three years, over 120 Eastern students have interned in Treasury offices. My familiarity with Eastern also stems from my consultant for education issues, Sol Hurwitz, who could not be here with us today, and who graduated from Eastern 50 years ago this spring.

I am especially pleased to be here to sign a memorandum of understanding deepening the partnership between Treasury and Eastern through the Law and Legal Services Academy. I would like to say a few words about the importance of this school, and the type of education it provides, to you and to our broader community. I would then like to try to answer any questions you may have.

Before I begin, let me tell you a little bit about my experiences and then talk briefly about the Treasury Department.

Perhaps I am not the best person to talk about legal education -- after all, my experience with law school began with me dropping out after three days. But then I took a year and did other things, and returned, and attended law school -- and it turned out to be an immensely valuable experience. After attending law school and working at a law firm for a year, I spent twenty-six years at an investment firm on Wall Street. Five years ago, I left the private sector to join the Clinton Administration, first in the White House and now as Secretary of the Treasury.

One thing I have learned in my career which I would like to emphasize for you is that, regardless of what career you choose to pursue after your education, a legal education can have tremendous benefits throughout your life, not only professionally, but also personally. It provides you with enormously valuable background on the legal underpinnings of our society and the rules by which we govern ourselves, background which is useful in our every day life. It also can provide you with the ability to think more critically and methodically and to make arguments more persuasively, all of which will be helpful throughout your life.

Not including lawyers like me who are not practicing law, Treasury has over 2000 attorneys. Their efforts are overseen my General Counsel, Edward Knight, who is here with me today. They perform a wide variety of tasks at Treasury, including: interpreting the tax laws; drafting legislation; helping enforce our nation's laws against drugs, counterfeiting, financial crimes, and illegal weapons; helping to regulate banks and other financial institutions; helping impose sanctions on countries supporting terrorists; and providing guidance to our domestic and international economic policy makers. I rely on their advice and counsel very heavily, and could not effectively do my job without their support.

One more general thing I have learned in my career, in both the public and private sector, is the importance of education in making sure that you succeed in your career goals. In today's global economy, information and knowledge are fundamental requisites for success. Education has always been a key to prosperity. Today it is an imperative. And career academies such as the one being set up here at Eastern can play an important role in helping you gain the skills you will need and in helping you further your educational and career plans.

Studying hard and getting a good education is up to you. Having said that, we need to make sure you are given the opportunity to succeed. In that respect, the government has a very important role to play. We cannot study for you, but we can make education more affordable through Pell Grants, Hope Scholarships, tuition deductions, and the national service program. We are also trying to promote the idea of national standards so that we can determine what students should know and judge how well they are doing.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the ways we at Treasury try to assist students is by offering internships to high school students which provide students substantial and valuable work experience as they pursue their career goals. I would encourage you to consider applying for an internship next summer. Our Partnership in Education program will also support the Law and Legal Services Academy through workshops on college preparation and personal finances, and by providing speakers so that you can learn more about specific career areas. We will offer training in computer applications, and courses to improve writing skills. I would also encourage you to take advantage of these educational opportunities. Also, thanks to my Chief Information Officer Jim Flyzik, Charles Thomas a Treasury employee will be here working with you full time next year. Furthermore, to continue our efforts to improve technology throughout the school, we will be donating an additional 87 computers, one for each classroom.

Education is enormously important not only to each of you personally, but also to the future of our community. We will never realize our full economic potential as a nation until the District of Columbia and our other cities are prosperous and thriving and can be the engines driving future economic growth. As you get an education here at Eastern, and then pursue a career, I hope you will think about our community and how you can give something back. Each of us have responsibilities not simply to ourselves, but also to others.

So let me conclude by congratulating you on choosing to participate in this academy and wish you all the best as you continue your education. Thank you very much.