Legal Profile of Financial Agencies

United States Treasury Department

• Established by the first congress of the United States convened in 1789.
• Along with the Department of Justice, the Department of State and the Department of War, the Treasury Department was one of the first departments established by the United States.

Functions

• Managing federal finances
• Collecting taxes, duties and monies paid to and due to the U.S.
• Paying all bills of the U.S.
• Currency and coinage
• Manage government accounts and the public debt
• Supervise national banks and thrift institutions
• Advise on domestic and international financial, monetary, economic, trade and tax policy
• Enforce federal finance and tax laws
• o Investigate and prosecute tax evaders, counterfeiters, and forgers.

• Its Secretary is a cabinet level position, currently Henry Paulson
• The Treasury Department executes the US budget. Unlike the Federal Reserve, it is subject to, and part of, the Congressional budgetary process.
• The bailout/rescue effort within the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, widely referenced as totaling $750 billion, is being administered by the Treasury Department. Key in this effort is Neel Kashkari, Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability, who oversees Treasury's Office of Financial Stability. This is separate, but being coordinated with, Federal Reserve efforts and outlays to combat the financial crisis.