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HP-223
Good morning. Thank you all for being here.
It is truly a special occasion when the First Lady of the United States visits the Treasury Department. Mrs. Bush, welcome – we are delighted you're here. We appreciate the opportunity to show you our historic building.
Thank you also to our Treasurer, Anna Cabral, and to the Chairman of the Treasury Historical Association, Tom O'Malley, for speaking earlier. And welcome to all the members of the Treasury Historical Association who dedicate time and resources to preserving the history of the Department.
Thanks to Deputy Secretary Bob Kimmitt and his wife, Holly, who just accompanied Wendy and the First Lady and me on a tour of the building. And great thanks to Richard Cote, our curator, for an expert history of the building.
Today is a special day for the Treasury. And Mrs. Bush, we are honored to have you here for the official ribbon-cutting of the Treasury Building and Annex Repair and Restoration Project.
Over the last decade, architects, historians, engineers, carpenters, and many other contributors have worked to modernize the Treasury building while remaining true to its historic character. Many of you – including Polly Dietz, the project manager, and Jim Thomas, our facilities director – are on stage and in the audience – and you deserve a round of applause.
Few buildings in Washington boast such a rich history as this one. Today's Treasury building stands on the same spot as the very first Treasury building in Washington in 1800.
Since then, the history of the Treasury building has been shaped by our close proximity to our neighbor, the President.
Sometimes it would have been helpful to be a little further away. For instance, in 1814, as the British burned the White House, they torched the Treasury building for good measure.
The task of rebuilding Treasury fell to James Hoban, the original architect of the White House.
In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant held his inaugural ball here in the Cash Room. Unfortunately, little attention was paid to the hats and coats of partygoers, some of whom had to wait hours to retrieve their possessions. Thus it became the first and last inaugural ball held in the Cash Room.
But we've been much better about keeping track of money.
Up until the 1970s, members of the public could come into the Cash Room and exchange notes and bonds of the United States government for cash. Currency was stored in this room and in the adjacent vaults.
However, I'm sorry to inform everyone here today that the only cash you'll find in this room is in your wallets.
On our tour today, we saw two other magnificent rooms with presidential history – the Salmon Chase suite and the Andrew Johnson suite.
The Chase suite has been restored beautifully. Today the rooms look much the same as they did when Abraham Lincoln and Salmon Chase met there to discuss the financing of the Civil War.
After President Lincoln's assassination in 1865, the newly sworn-in President Andrew Johnson wanted to allow an appropriate amount of time for Mrs. Lincoln and her family to move out of the White House. Treasury Secretary Hugh McCulloch offered the new president his own suite on the third floor, and President Johnson took him up on the offer. He ran the federal government out of the Treasury building for eight weeks.
We share plenty of happy memories with the White House, too. In fact, the very first telephone line installed in the Treasury Building – back in 1877 – connected Treasury with the White House.
And believe me, President Bush keeps the number handy.
Mrs. Bush, this is just part of the rich history shared by the Treasury Department and the White House. It's a history we're proud of. And through the active involvement of Treasury employees, as well as public and private donors, we intend to preserve the historical integrity of our building for future generations.
Mrs. Bush's own work in support of historic preservation has been demonstrated throughout her public life. She is also a highly respected and effective voice on education and youth, and she is active around the world on issues of economic development, the rights of women, and the eradication of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. Everywhere Mrs. Bush travels, she represents the President and the United States of America in a truly exemplary manner.
It is now my great pleasure and honor to introduce the First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush.
REPORTS