The U.S. President appoints the Secretary of the Treasury.
The official mission of the U.S. Treasury is to "serve the American people and strengthen national security by managing the U.S. Government's finances effectively." The U.S. Treasury also works to encourage the growth of the economy and to help keep the U.S. financial system secure and stable.
History
The President of the United States appoints a Secretary of the Treasury nominee. The Secretary then must go through a series of hearings that often can be tenuous. A U.S. Senate panel ultimately confirms the nominee and paves the way for the Treasurer to take office.
Divisions
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is divided into two main offices, of which the Secretary of the Treasury is responsible. The two offices are the Departmental Offices, which have the duty of making policy and managing the Department of the Treasury, and the operating bureaus, which "carry out the specific operations assigned to the Department," according to the Department of the Treasury website.
Duties
The Secretary of the Treasury ultimately is responsible for the smooth and successful operations of the Department of Treasury, which include managing the federal government's finances, collecting taxes, paying the U.S. government's bills, minting money, managing government debt, overseeing U.S. banks, advising on economic and financial polices, enforcing tax laws and investigating "tax evaders, counterfeiters and forgers," according to the Treasury's official website.
Swearing In
Secretaries of the U.S. Treasury Department are sworn in during official ceremonies, which are attended by the President and vice president of the United States, as well as other dignitaries and treasury officials. At the ceremony, the treasurer will take an oath of office, which reads: "I (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."
Recent Biographies
In 2010, Timothy Geithner was serving as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Geithner was sworn in as the 75th secretary of the treasury on January 26, 2009.
Before serving as Secretary of the Treasury, Geithner was the ninth president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He began his position at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in late 2003. Before Geithner, three secretaries served under former President George W. Bush--Paul O'Neill, John Snow and Henry Paulson.
Tags: Department Treasury, Secretary Treasury, that will, United States, appoints Secretary