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WORLD> America
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Paulson says won't stay at Treasury past January
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-11 10:34 WASHINGTON - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in an interview aired on Sunday he had no interest in staying in his post beyond January when a new administration takes office.
"I look forward to doing other things next year," Paulson said on NBC television's "Meet the Press" program. The interview was taped on Saturday in China.
"I'm going to run right up until the end," he said. "I'm focused on getting everything done I can get done between now and January 19th." In March, Paulson proposed overhauling the US financial regulatory system and giving more powers to the Federal Reserve in the wake of the financial market upheaval that exposed gaping holes in oversight. Last month, he took heat from fellow Republicans in Congress who said his plan to backstop mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N) was akin to socialism because shareholders reaped the profits in good times but the government was on the hook for losses when things went bad. Paulson offered a richer credit line to the two government-sponsored entities and pledged to buy their shares if needed to bolster investor confidence, although he has said it was unlikely the companies would need to use the lifelines. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finance nearly half of all mortgages in the United States and have been hurt as the housing crisis drove up delinquencies and foreclosures. |
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