Paulson Gears Up Transition Plan

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is laying the groundwork to give the next administration a role in making crucial decisions before Inauguration Day, raising the odds that parallel teams will help navigate the financial crisis in the coming weeks.

The unusual degree of coordination is a sign of the enormous task facing a new administration that will inherit a $700-billion rescue program that it didn’t create and may not fully embrace. It also means the winner of Tuesday’s election could be running a shadow Treasury Department inside the agency.

Mr. Paulson — who has an interest in seeing the bailout succeed — plans to consult with the new administration on key decisions, according to a Treasury official. He is carving out office space at Treasury, assembling briefing books and has been in frequent contact with both Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.

‘Secretary Paulson has strong views about the program. At the same time, it would be irresponsible to not consult on any big moves with the next team,’ the official said.

Mr. Paulson’s plan to take equity stakes in banks and buy bad loans and other troubled assets from financial institutions didn’t get full approval from either candidate.

Sen. McCain, the Republican nominee, has said he’s ‘disappointed’ Mr. Paulson hasn’t adopted his proposal to spend $300 billion to buy up and restructure individual home loans, and has criticized the use of taxpayer money to help financial institutions without requiring additional regulation.

Democratic Sen. Obama has suggested he wants to attach conditions to money the government spends, such as tighter restrictions on executive pay and more protections for homeowners.

Mr. Paulson will be in control until Jan. 21. But there will be a host of decisions made before then about how to spend some of the $700 billion. While Treasury has already begun buying equity stakes in banks, the $250 billion program will continue taking applications for 10 days after the election. Treasury has yet to determine which financial assets to buy and who to buy them from. Given that Treasury has authority to buy almost any financial instrument — including residential mortgages, car loans and mortgage-backed securities — a new administration may want to exert its own influence.

A spokesman for the Obama campaign declined to comment. The McCain campaign didn’t respond to requests for comments.

While every administration prepares for a hand-off in power, Treasury’s efforts are moving at a faster pace than normal. The agency already has office space set aside, as well as phone and Internet connections in place. Treasury officials say they are operating under the assumption that they need to be ready by Wednesday.

Most observers expect the next president to quickly tap a Treasury secretary, given the country’s fragile economic state and the thicket of financial issues facing the next administration. In the past, most Treasury secretaries were picked in December and confirmed in February.

Sen. Obama’s possible picks include former Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President Timothy Geithner and former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. Sen. McCain has mentioned both former eBay Inc. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman and Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers as possibilities. Other possibilities include World Bank President Robert Zoellick, Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO John Thain and John Taylor, a Stanford University economist and McCain economic adviser.

Deborah Solomon

鲍尔森为交班做准备
2008年10月31日

美国财政部长鲍尔森(Henry Paulson)正提前为交接班作准备工作，打算在新总统就职前就给下届政府安排一个重要的决策角色；这增加了有关平行团队将在未来数周协助应对金融危机的可能性。

这种不同寻常的协调程度凸显了下届政府所面临的巨大挑战；上届政府留下的7,000亿美元救助计划不是他们制定的，他们可能也并非完全认同。这也意味着下周二总统大选的赢家可能会在该机构内部运行一个“影子”财政部。

据财政部一位官员透露，鲍尔森打算与新政府协商重大决策，他希望看到救助计划获得成功。鲍尔森正在财政部预留办公空间，归整案牍，并已经与两位候选人频频联系。

这位官员表示，鲍尔森对救助计划满腹想法。与此同时，如果不就重大举措与下届政府进行协商，也是不负责任的。

鲍尔森收购银行股权、并从金融机构收购不良贷款和其他问题资产的计划并未得到两位候选人的完全认可。

共和党候选人麦凯恩(McCain)已经表示，他很失望鲍尔森没有采纳自己提议的斥资3,000亿美元收购并重订个人住房贷款的计划。麦凯恩也对动用纳税人资金救助金融机构、却未要求额外监管的做法提出了批评。

民主党参议院奥巴马(Obama)也暗示，他希望政府提供的救助资金应当附带条件，例如严格限制管理人士薪酬并为购房者提供更多保护。

鲍尔森的任期将到明年1月21日。但在此之前，他还要就如何支出7,000亿美元救助计划中的部分资金作出诸多决策。尽管财政部已经着手开始收购银行股权，但2,500亿美元的救助资金将在大选后10天继续接受申请。财政部也没有决定收购哪些金融资产以及从哪些机构收购这些资产。考虑到财政部有权收购几乎所有的金融工具（包括住房按揭贷款、汽车贷款和按揭支持证券），新政府可能会希望施加自己的影响力。

奥巴马竞选阵营发言人拒绝对此置评。麦凯恩竞选阵营没有回复记者的置评要求。

尽管每一届政府都会为政权交接做准备，但财政部的交接班进程明显快于往常。该机构已经预留了办公空间，电话和网络也已经安排到位。财政部官员表示，他们是按照下周三前一切到位的目标作准备的。

多数观察人士预计，鉴于美国目前疲软的经济状况和下届政府面临的诸多金融问题，下任总统应会迅速确定财政部长人选。以往而言，大多数财政部长都是于12月份选定，而在来年2月证实。

奥巴马可能的财长人选包括

前克林顿总统财长萨默斯(Lawrence Summers)、
纽约联储银行行长盖特纳(Timothy Geithner)、
前美国联邦储备委员会(Fed)主席沃克尔(Paul Volcker)。

麦凯恩提到的可能人选包括

前eBay Inc.首席执行长惠特曼(Meg Whitman)、
前思科系统(Cisco Systems Inc.)首席执行长钱伯斯(John Chambers)。

其他的可能人选还包括了

世界银行(World Bank)行长佐立克(Robert Zoellick)、
美林公司(Merrill Lynch & Co.)首席执行长塞恩(John Thain)，
斯坦福大学经济学家、麦凯恩经济顾问约翰·泰勒(John Taylor)。