Nomination of Alastair Fitzpayne to be Deputy Under Secretar

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Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Alastair Fitzpayne to be Deputy Under Secretary of Legislative Affairs, Designated Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs

Chairman Baucus, Senator Hatch, and members of the Senate Finance Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the Committee today with such a distinguished panel of nominees. It is an honor. I want to thank you and your staff for considering my nomination to be the Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, and for all of the work that has gone in to scheduling this hearing. I also want to express my deep appreciation to President Obama for nominating me, and Secretary Geithner for recommending me, for this position.

I would first like to briefly introduce some members of my family who are here. I am joined by my wife of over ten years, Jill Morningstar, who, like me, had the privilege of working in the United States Senate. She worked for Senator Wellstone as his legislative assistant for education policy up until his tragic death in 2002. I am also joined by my Mother, Elizabeth Fitzpayne. She is now retired but once worked for the Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) before she became a medical librarian. I would also like to briefly recognize some family members that are not here, including my two children, Leah and Ben, my brother, David, and my father and mother in law, Richard and Faith Morningstar. I am eternally grateful for everything that they have done for me and they are all, in different ways, responsible for me being here today.

I currently serve as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary at the Treasury Department, which I joined in January of 2009. It has been the opportunity of a lifetime to work with Secretary Geithner and the rest of the amazingly talented Treasury team during these historic and challenging times. I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to continue my service to the country and the Department if confirmed for this new position.

Briefly, I began my career working for the federal government thirteen years ago as a Presidential Management Intern in the Office of Management and Budget. I spent over two years at OMB helping to put together the President’s budget and working closely with the Social Security Administration on ways to improve their performance at least-cost to the taxpayer.

In 2001, I began working for Senator Evan Bayh as his tax and budget legislative assistant which gave me an opportunity to work closely with this Committee on many issues. In 2007, I left the Senate and began working for then-House Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel as his senior policy advisor. In this capacity, I continued to work on tax issues as he was a Member of the Ways and Means Committee and also had responsibility for financial services issues and staffed him during the consideration and passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. I am indebted to both Senator Bayh and Mayor Emanuel for the trust they placed in me and for the opportunity to work with them in their efforts to help their constituents and the country.

If confirmed, I look forward to having the opportunity to again work closely with Members and congressional staff to facilitate an open line of communication between the Treasury Department and Congress. I will faithfully represent the policies and views of the Department and Administration before this Committee and others in Congress. Most importantly, I will ensure that the views of Congress are accurately conveyed and fully understood within the Department and the Administration, and I will strive to see that questions and concerns from Members of Congress receive timely responses.

Chairman Baucus, Senator Hatch, and Members of this Committee, thank you again for your consideration and I look forward to responding to any questions you may have.