WASHINGTON — As a three-decade Wall Street veteran and chairman of one of the nation's premiere investment banks, Henry M. Paulson Jr. makes a living watching markets.
But it's his hobby of watching birds that is already causing problems for his nomination as the nation's next Treasury secretary.
An ardent environmentalist, Paulson is expected to be questioned during confirmation hearings about his role as chairman of the Nature Conservancy, and whether he adequately cleaned up the organization's land sale and tax break practices. Another potential sticky issue: a decision by Goldman Sachs, the investment house Paulson heads as chairman and chief executive, to donate 680,000 acres of land in a remote section of Chile to an environmental group with ties to his son.
Although it may create some uncomfortable moments at the witness table, Paulson's involvement as an environmentalist is unlikely to derail his nomination. Nonetheless, it does suggest a maverick is underneath the picture of a pro-administration businessman.
"He just does those things that appeal to him," said longtime friend E. David Coolidge III, managing director of Chicago-based William Blair & Co. "In his position there's lots of options and lots of demands on his time, but instead of doing the things that a lot of Wall Street executives might do, he goes bird-watching."
Although Paulson appears largely in step with fellow Republicans, strongly advocating tax cuts and free trade, he has on occasion chartered an independent course. The Nature Conservancy, for example, supports the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to address global warming that the Bush administration opposed.
Asked about Paulson's apparent views on global warming, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said Bush was "not afraid to have people who disagree with him."
In the aftermath of corporate accounting scandals at Enron and other companies, while many executives griped about proposed burdensome rules, Paulson said the scrutiny was well deserved. To restore investor confidence, he argued, major changes in corporate governance were needed.
As Treasury secretary, Paulson would not only advocate for the administration's tax and trade policies, he also would be a vocal supporter of globalization, not the most popular position to champion in Washington.
"In the U.S., we have benefited more from free trade and global competition than any country in the world," he told the Wall Street Journal in April.
