Good morning. I welcome the new committee members introduced by Sen. Baucus and also want to welcome Sen. Snowe and Sen. Kyl to the Finance Committee, along with Sens. Bingaman, Kerry, Torricelli and Lincoln, and welcome back Senator Daschle.
There's an old saying: "May you live in interesting times." I think there's no question that for the Finance Committee these will certainly be interesting times. The committee will be the focus for many of the legislative goals of President-elect Bush. I'm referring to three objectives. One, tax relief must be provided to the overtaxed American people. Two, Medicare must be modernized, and coverage for prescription drugs needs to be part of that effort. Third, we need to enhance retirement security by saving the Social Security system and boosting pension coverage.
I believe we can find a lot of common ground on these matters and also realize the President's goals. However, I don't intend to sit by waiting for the phone to ring with a call from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. The Finance Committee in the previous Congress crafted bipartisan tax relief on a number of important issues. I'm referring to the retirement security package, education tax relief, elimination of the death tax, and other measures. Unfortunately, either a Presidential veto or legislative gridlock prevented us from getting that tax relief to the people.
I look forward to working with you, Mr. Chairman, the members of the Finance Committee, as well as the administration, on approving these bipartisan bills as quickly as possible. I'm confident this work can be done while the committee also acts on the President's important initiatives.
Today the Finance Committee considers the nomination of Paul O'Neill to be the Secretary of the Treasury, and tomorrow we will have the nomination of Gov. Thompson to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr. O'Neill has run an international company through some tough times. I want someone serving as Treasury Secretary who's comfortable at the controls. I'd also note that Mr. O'Neill's mother was born in Seymour, Iowa, and his brother-in-law taught at Iowa State University. Those are two additional strong points on his side as far as I'm concerned.
Mr. O'Neill's first task as Treasury Secretary will be to help get our nation's economy back on track. Recent reports indicate that the economic outlook is uncertain, with many troubling indicators, such as reduced orders and profits as well as declining consumer confidence. It's important to note that the concerns about the economy are bipartisan, even House Minority Leader Gephardt recently stated his concern that a recession was looming.
These very real problems with the health of our economy won't just go away. Fortunately, President-elect Bush and his nominee for Treasury Secretary, Mr. O'Neill, recognize that they must look towards immediate steps to improving the economy.