June 5, 2009
TG-158

Opening Statement of Kim N. Wallace, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Treasury Department

United States Senate Committee on Finance
June 5, 2009

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery                              

Thank you Chairman Baucus, Senator Grassley, and members of the Senate Finance Committee, for the opportunity to appear before you today.  I am honored to have been nominated by President Obama to serve as Treasury assistant secretary for legislative affairs.  I am grateful to Secretary Geithner for recommending me to the President.

Before I begin, I would like to briefly introduce my family.  My wife, Robin Vink, is my life partner of more than two decades; this year we celebrate our twenty-year anniversary on the same date that the 1990 Budget Agreement was passed by the Senate.  Our son, Harrison, is a rising senior at Maret School in the District and enjoys his time on the varsity basketball and lacrosse teams as a three-year starter almost as much as he relishes the post-secondary school selection process.  Our daughter, Ava, attends the Communications Arts Program at Blair High School in Montgomery County.  All three are a constant source of support to me and contribute in unique ways to our family.

If approved by this Committee and confirmed by the Senate, I know that their constant support and guidance will continue to enlighten my thoughts and actions as I do all I can to help President Obama and Secretary Geithner revitalize the economy and stabilize our financial markets.

Senators, as you know, the Treasury Department and this Committee work closely together on a range of important topics.  The success of the priorities of this Congress and of the Administration on crucial issues facing our nation require a seamless communication between Committee members, staff, and Treasury officials.  If confirmed, I pledge to you my unwavering attention to ensuring that this Committee and the Treasury Department have regular and open contact.

If confirmed by the Senate, I would be honored to begin my third phase of public service.  As a graduate of the then Government program at the University of Texas at Austin, then state Senator, now U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett hired me as a junior analyst.  I also had the pleasure of working in the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations, responsible for communicating federal policy developments in the areas of banking, employment, and education to relevant state agencies and legislators.  My federal government service began in 1986, as the Function 500 analyst for Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lawton Chiles.  I departed public service in 1994 after working almost five years for then Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell as a member of his fiscal policy staff.

My state and federal public service taught me the importance of translating policy actions to various constituencies who in one way or another would be affected by the decisions of elected officials.  If confirmed, I look forward to applying these lessons, and those learned as a private sector manager of research teams, to the role for which you are considering me.

The challenges and opportunities facing our country will test policymakers to design and implement ideas that address near-term conditions but to do so in a manner that have enduring, constructive implications for generations to come.  I look forward to contributing to this work should the Senate choose to confirm me.