Henry M Jr Paulson

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.'s blueprint for regulatory reform, officially unveiled Monday, sets the stage for a confrontation with Congress by offering no relief for troubled homeowners and in many instances advocating less, not more, federal supervision of the nation's financial system.

Henry Paulson was supposed to bring a fresh dose of Wall Street to Washington. As it turns out, he's doing the very opposite. As Treasury secretary, he has become the Bush administration's point man and chief spokesman on a series of government interventions in the economy -- including the plan likely to be approved by Congress to put the full resources of the U.S. Treasury behind faltering home mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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.

President Bush on Tuesday nominated a high-powered Wall Street figure, Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Henry M. Paulson Jr., to replace Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, whose long-expected resignation Bush accepted. Snow became the highest-ranking official to leave the administration in a midterm shuffle that began when White House Budget Director Joshua B. Bolten became chief of staff two months ago. Snow joined CIA Director Porter J.