U.S. Department of the Treasury

(Archived Content)

For immediate release -

(These comments can be attributed to Secretary O'Neill)

• I believe we were on the verge of recovery before the September 11 terrorist attacks, and that our resilience and determination have brought us back to the early stages of recovery today.
• The President's tax relief plan enacted last year certainly softened the economic downturn.
• More than 1.4 million Americans lost their jobs during this recession. The President asked Congress last October to enact an economic security package that would help employers create and retain jobs.
• The complexity of our tax code also strangles our prosperity. Our tax code is an abomination. And it is a drag on our ability to create jobs in this nation.
• Small businessmen have to read through indecipherable rules for any number of specific business-related expenses.
• In the coming weeks, we at Treasury will be producing a series of reports on the complexities of the tax code, for individuals, for small businesses and for corporations. We'll highlight possible solutions to specific complexities and work with Congress to see what we can implement this year.
• The President has called on Congress to enact Trade Promotion Authority.
• A fundamental necessity for a strong economy is confidence. The lack of confidence lingers in some parts of our economy, because of a lack of terrorism risk insurance.
• Recent events have also created some doubts about the confidence investors should have in corporate financial information.
• I believe we must have greater accountability for the information that is made available to shareholders.
• Our responsibility as a government is to ensure that they have the information they need to make intelligent choices.
• The President has called for protections so that employees have as much access to the company shares in their 401(k) as corporate officers have to their own shares in the company.
• Government has no business telling Americans where they can and can't invest their money. And government can't ensure that no one ever makes a bad investment decision. What we can do, and should do, is make every effort to ensure that Americans have the skills to evaluate their savings and investment choices.