August 2, 1994 - Part 1
August 2, 1994 - Part 1
(09:40:13) I'm here today to answer your questions and help clarify any outstanding issues concerning contact between the Treasury Department and the White House on the Resolution Trust Corporation's investigation of Madison Guaranty. I have cooperated fully with all investigations into this matter, including those conducted by Mr. Fiske, the Office of Government Ethics, and congressional committees. Several Members of this Committee have commented on my personal diary, and if I might, I would like to make one brief point about it. I started keeping this diary nearly 6 years ago. I would write in it fairly infrequently, sometimes every 2 weeks. Other times, 6 weeks would go by before I made an entry. Indeed, some of the entries of interest to this Committee describe events that occurred nearly a month before I wrote about them. I made no effort to check the accuracy of my diary because this was never intended to be a precise narrative or a verbatim account of what took place. At times, it included impressions of meetings that I did not even attend. It was, more than anything, a way to reflect on events and draw lessons from my personal and professional experiences. Today, you will ask me questions under oath, and I hope my answers will clarify the entries I made in my diary. Since the time I first made these entries, I've had a chance to reflect about precisely what I know. I wish that my diary was more accurate but I take my responsibility to this Committee very seri- 321 ously, and I feel obligated to present the facts as truthfully as I possibly can. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Mr. Nye, I think you're probably the next most senior person at the table. I'm not sure on that, in terms of these job titles, but why don't you go next here. TESTIMONY OF J. BENJAMIN H. NYE, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, U.S. DEPART. MENT OF THE TREASURY, WASHINGTON, _DC Mr. NYE. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, my name is Ben min Nye and I welcome the opportunity to appear here today. I'd like to provide you with a brief summary of my back ground for the benefit of this Committee and an outline of my role in the matters at band. Prior to working at Treasury, I worked in Boston as a business consultant in the strategy group of a firm called Mercer Management Consulting. I left in early February to begin work in public service, and have since worked at the Treasury Department for the past year and a half. I first joined Treasury as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy. There I served as both the Chief of Staff, managing 54 people and the office budget, as well as a policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary on issues such as the 1993 budget bill, the earned income tax credit expansion, the auto task force, and several other policy issues. I then succeeded Josh Steiner as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary. I began working for Roger Altman in early September 1993 and I still do so today. ' My involvement in the events related to Madison Guaranty comes through meetings I attended within the Treasury and at the RTC. I did not attend- the White House meetings that have been the subject of these hearings. Furthermore, I did not have any phone conversations with anyone at the White House on this matter. Finally, I do not know, or did not know of the Treasury-White House meetings which occurred before February 2, and which did not include the Deputy Secretary himself. In conclusion, I would like to state, for the record, that I have the utmost respect for the integrity of the people with whom I work at Treasury. Roger Altman, Jean Hanson and Josh Steiner are friends yes, but more importantly, I know them to be honest forthright, and extremely credible. I'd be happy to answer any questions you or other Members of the Committee may have. Thank you. The CHAiRmAN. Thank you. Mr. Foreman, I know you have a statement, and we'd like to bear your statement now. TESTIMONY OF DENNIS 1. FOREMAN, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL, DESIGNATED AGENCY ETHICS DIRECTOR, U.S. DEPART MENT OF THE TREASURY, WASHINGTON, DC Mr. FOREMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, 322 Good morning, Senator DAmato, Members of the Committee. My name is Dennis Foreman. I'm the Deputy General Counsel of the Treasury Department. I have been in public service for nearly 24 years. I a Vietnam veteran having served in the Army's Airborne Special Forces. I was with the U.S. Foreign Service for 5 years, including postings to the U.S. embassies in Beirut and Tanis, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York. I've worked in four Executive Branch legal offices In 1989, 1 was selected to be the Assistant Legal Advisor for Ethics and Personnel at the Department of State, which was my first position with ethics responsibilities. In January, 1991, 1 was appointed to the Treasury Deputy Counsel position, which carries with it the responsibilities as the Designated Agency Ethics Official. I'm appearing here today at the Committee's request to discuss matters pursuant to Senate Resolution 229. Because of my position as the Senior Ethics Official at Treasury, I have certain responsibilities. To put those responsibilities in proper perspective, I think it's appropriate to briefly review some of the events in which I was involved.