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92–749—PDF 2014

S. HRG. 113–539 

NOMINATIONS OF D. NATHAN SHEETS, 

RAMIN TOLOUI, AND MARIA CANCIAN 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

ON THE

NOMINATIONS OF 

D. NATHAN SHEETS, TO BE UNDER SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY; RAMIN TOLOUI, TO BE 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, DEPARTMENT 

OF THE TREASURY; AND MARIA CANCIAN, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

AND HUMAN SERVICES 

JUNE 25, 2014 

( 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Finance 

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE 

RON WYDEN, Oregon, Chairman 

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

BILL NELSON, Florida 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado 

ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania 

MARK R. WARNER, Virginia 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN CORNYN, Texas 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota 

RICHARD BURR, North Carolina 

JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania 

JOSHUA SHEINKMAN, Staff Director 

CHRIS CAMPBELL, Republican Staff Director 

(II) 

C O N T E N T S 

OPENING STATEMENTS 

Page 

Wyden, Hon. Ron, a U.S. Senator from Oregon, chairman, Committee on 

Finance .................................................................................................................. 1 

Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from Utah ................................................. 3 

ADMINISTRATION NOMINEES 

Sheets, D. Nathan, Ph.D.,nominated to be Under Secretary for International 

Affairs, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC .................................... 6 

Toloui, Ramin,nominated to be Assistant Secretary for International Finance, 

Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC .................................................. 7 

Cancian, Maria, Ph.D.,nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Children and 

Families, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC ....... 8 

ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL 

Cancian, Maria, Ph.D.: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 8 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 15 

Biographical information ................................................................................. 17 

Responses to questions from committee members ......................................... 40 

Hatch, Hon. Orrin G.: 

Opening statement ........................................................................................... 3 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 42 

Sheets, D. Nathan, Ph.D.: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 6 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 45 

Biographical information ................................................................................. 47 

Responses to questions from committee members ......................................... 61 

Toloui, Ramin: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 72 

Biographical information ................................................................................. 74 

Wyden, Hon. Ron: 

Opening statement ........................................................................................... 1 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 86 

(III) 

(1) 

NOMINATIONS OF D. NATHAN SHEETS, 

TO BE UNDER SECRETARY FOR 

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT 

OF THE TREASURY; RAMIN TOLOUI, 

TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, DEPARTMENT 

OF THE TREASURY; AND MARIA CANCIAN, 

TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT 

OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2014 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, 

Washington, DC. 

The hearing was convened, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in 

room SD–215, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Ron Wyden 

(chairman of the committee) presiding. 

Present: Senator Hatch. 

Also present: Democratic Staff: Joshua Sheinkman, Staff Director; Anderson Heiman, International Competitiveness and Innovation Advisor; Michael Evans, General Counsel; Jocelyn Moore, Deputy Staff Director; Jayme White, Chief International Competitiveness and Innovation Advisor; Laura Berntsen, Senior Human Services Advisor; and Lisa Pearlman, International Trade Counsel. Republican Staff: Everett Eissenstat, Chief International Trade Counsel; Becky Shipp, Health Policy Advisor; Rebecca Eubank, International Trade Analyst; Jeff Wrase, Chief Economist; Nicholas 

Wyatt, Tax and Nominations Professional Staff Member; and Chris 

Campbell, Staff Director. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. RON WYDEN, A U.S. SENATOR 

FROM OREGON, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON FINANCE 

The CHAIRMAN. The Finance Committee will come to order. 

This morning the Finance Committee is considering three nominees for key posts in the administration: Dr. Nathan Sheets, Mr. 

Ramin Toloui, and Dr. Maria Cancian. Each of these nominees 

brings years of experience and skills that will be essential if they 

take on these new roles. 

Nathan Sheets has been nominated to be the Under Secretary for 

International Affairs at the Treasury Department. In this role, Dr. 

2 

Sheets will be one of America’s chief economic diplomats, representing the United States in high-level discussions to develop the 

rules of the road that are going to shape the global economy. Working closely with Dr. Sheets will be Mr. Ramin Toloui, nominated 

to be Deputy Under Secretary for International Finance at the 

Treasury Department. 

These two individuals obviously face a challenging task. Our 

country sits in the middle of a complex international economic system, one that operates across longer distances and at a faster pace 

than ever before. New technologies have opened up more opportunities to bring Americans into the economic winner’s circle, but, as 

the global economy becomes more interconnected, our workers and 

our businesses too often see their competitors gaining at their expense. 

So, what Americans expect of these nominees in particular is to 

lead the charge for our country to develop the rules and the relationships with other nations that ensure that America can compete 

on a level playing field with our major trading partners. If confirmed, their work is going to be vital to ensuring the U.S. economy 

can support the ambitions of our citizens to live the American 

dream by supporting their families, buying a house, and educating 

their children. 

Under the best conditions, this is going to be a tough job. But 

the world is still reeling from the international financial crisis. 

This has left our global economy out of balance in a major way, and 

that imbalance is a cause for concern in the United States. 

Economists have been sounding the warning bell for years that 

some of our larger trading partners continue to manipulate their 

currencies and drag their feet on reforms. Currency manipulation 

makes it harder for the United States to produce good-paying jobs 

and ship our goods overseas. 

Take China as an example. China’s currency policies artificially 

make their own products cheaper and U.S. products more expensive. That is unfair competition, and it puts American jobs at risk. 

In these conditions, it is especially important to have smart, capable people at Treasury, people who can help find a way to end 

currency manipulation and other harmful practices that have been 

documented for years, to work in close consultation with the Congress so Americans from across the country can know that their 

concerns are being heard, and to develop the rules and relationships necessary to stabilize the international economic system and 

establish a path for long-term growth in our country. 

A brief look at their backgrounds makes it clear that these two 

nominees are up to the task. 

Dr. Sheets served for 18 years at the Federal Reserve, including 

during the financial crisis. And, if confirmed, Mr. Toloui will be returning to the Treasury Department after a long and distinguished 

career serving there in a number of roles. 

Both individuals have spent time in the public and private sectors, learning the nuts and bolts of international finance. By working with high-level officials from across the globe, they know what 

it takes to forge common ground and to foster cooperation on these 

difficult issues. 

3 

Also with us today is Dr. Maria Cancian, nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the Department of 

Health and Human Services. As the leader of this agency, Dr. 

Cancian would oversee a range of programs and initiatives that are 

vital to America’s most vulnerable individuals, including the foster 

care system, TANF, and child support programs. 

It is no secret that these programs could use an overhaul. They 

are not delivering the outcomes they should for those families that 

need them most. Americans deserve safety net programs that are 

going to break the cycle of poverty and give our people a more sure 

footing to climb the economic ladder in our country. 

If confirmed, Dr. Cancian would bring a wealth of knowledge and 

experience to this position. She comes from both academia and the 

public sector and has worked to ensure that policymakers pursue 

solutions aimed squarely at giving parents the resources they need 

to get by. Given the unique challenges facing working families 

today, her laser-like focus and years of experience ought to serve 

the Department well. 

I thank all of the nominees for joining us today and hope the 

committee will act on these nominations expeditiously. 

[The prepared statement of Chairman Wyden appears in the appendix.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Hatch? 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN G. HATCH, 

A U.S. SENATOR FROM UTAH 

Senator HATCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you 

for holding today’s hearing. I also want to thank our nominees for 

joining us. 

Today we are considering the nominations of Nathan Sheets to 

be Under Secretary for International Affairs and Ramin Toloui to 

be Deputy Under Secretary for International Finance at the Treasury Department. Both are very important positions, and I believe 

both nominees are well-qualified. 

My staff and I have discussed our priorities with both nominees, 

but I would like to recap some of my concerns here. First, it is vital 

that Treasury be more responsive to information requests from 

Congress. If Congress is to effectively fulfill its constitutional role 

on behalf of the American people, Treasury, it seems to me, has to 

be more forthcoming than it has been in the recent past. 

Both nominees ensured me that they will work to fix this problem, and I certainly hope they will. I also hope both nominees will 

help push the administration to be a stronger, more public advocate on behalf of renewing Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA. 

TPA is the linchpin to our international trade agenda. Without it, 

I do not think the administration can negotiate standard trade 

agreements which will achieve the goals of Congress and have the 

opportunity of being passed into law. 

The bipartisan Trade Priorities Act I introduced with former 

Senator Baucus, along with Chairman Camp on the House Ways 

and Means Committee, would renew TPA and outline a set of bipartisan priorities for our trade negotiations. It is my hope that we 

can move on our legislation as soon as possible. It is the only way 

that we can ensure that the ambitious trade negotiations currently 

4 

underway are successful. And I know the distinguished chairman 

feels much the same way I do. And the President needs to do more 

to get this done. 

On the substance of these trade agreements, I have made it clear 

that no sector should be excluded from our efforts to enhance regulatory convergence as part of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, or TTIP, including financial services. Financial services play an essential role in facilitating trade 

and investment flows. Given the central importance of the financial 

sector to every other aspect of industrialized economies, I do not 

see how financial services regulation can be excluded from a meaningful TTIP agreement. 

I also understand that, because of Treasury’s intransigence on 

this issue, the European Union is starting to pull other sectors off 

the table, including audiovisual services and potentially even financial services market access. I am concerned about that. Such an 

outcome would be unacceptable to me, and I hope our nominees 

will help ensure that this does not happen. 

I would also like to remind Treasury officials to keep Congress 

in the loop before going off to discuss important issues related to 

taxes and international finance at gatherings of government officials from other countries, such as the G–20 meetings. It has too 

often been the case, in my view, that officials make commitments 

at international gatherings without adequate input from Congress. 

To take just one example, representatives of the administration 

agreed to recognize the IMF and subsequently dropped it on the 

doorstep of Congress as an international commitment that had to 

be honored. 

Making commitments of taxpayer resources for potentially risky 

international bailouts is something that, in my opinion, should receive congressional input before the commitment is made, and not 

after. Similarly, any international commitments relevant to U.S. 

tax policy ought to receive congressional input in advance. 

In addition to our two Treasury nominees, we will also consider 

the nomination of Maria Cancian for Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Now, this is a key post, and it has been without a leader for too 

long. I am hopeful that, if confirmed, Dr. Cancian will work in a 

bipartisan manner to advance key reforms needed in our child welfare and foster care system. 

Now, child welfare reform is long overdue. We need to work on 

that. The current system is structured so that the largest percentage of Federal dollars is directed to the least desirable outcome, 

which is the removal of children from their homes and placing 

them with strangers. The current system also features an overreliance on placements in group homes, which, as research overwhelmingly shows, contributes to negative outcomes for children 

and youth. 

I understand that Dr. Cancian shares my concern over group 

homes. I hope she will work with me to reduce the number of children who are placed in these facilities. 

Finally, as the chairman knows, the Temporary Assistance for 

Needy Families, or TANF, programs have not been reauthorized for 

5 

years. Progress on TANF has been stymied by the administration’s 

refusal to withdraw the informational memorandum to States unilaterally granting this administration the authority to waive critical welfare work requirements. 

Many of us believe that the administration does not have the authority to waive welfare work requirements. Even if the members 

of this administration disagree on this point, the fact remains that 

no State has applied for one of these waivers. 

The refusal to withdraw the informational memorandum remains 

a barrier to bipartisan work on TANF reauthorization. I hope that, 

under Dr. Cancian’s leadership, we can find a way forward to implementing meaningful improvements to TANF. 

Once again, Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for this hearing and 

look forward to hearing from our nominees. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Hatch. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Hatch appears in the appendix.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Our first nominee is Nathan Sheets, nominated 

to be Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Treasury. 

Dr. Sheets, it has been a tradition here at the Finance Committee to have you introduce your family, and, if you would like to 

do that, that would be great. 

Dr. SHEETS. Thank you, Chairman Wyden. 

I am very pleased to introduce my wife, Kimberly, and our 

youngest son, Eli. Eli’s three older siblings are away this week at 

various kinds of summer activities, but I know they are here in 

spirit. 

The CHAIRMAN. How old is Eli? 

Dr. SHEETS. Eli is 10. 

The CHAIRMAN. All right. We are glad you are here, Eli. Thank 

you. 

Our second nominee is Mr. Ramin Toloui, nominated to be Deputy Under Secretary at the Treasury Department. 

Mr. Toloui, why don’t you introduce your family? 

Mr. TOLOUI. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

My mother and father are here, Alyce and Ahmad, here from 

Iowa City, and I would not be anywhere without them. So it is 

great to share this day with them. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very good. And now we have Dr. Cancian, nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the 

Department of Health and Human Services. 

Dr. Cancian, your family? 

Dr. CANCIAN. Thank you, Chairman Wyden. 

My husband, Chuck Kalish, is here, and our oldest daughter, 

Emma Cancian Kalish. Our younger daughter, Rosa, is busy teaching summer school in Madison, WI and could not get the day off 

to come. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very good. Thank you all. As is our usual practice, your prepared statements are going to be made a part of the 

record. Please use your 5 minutes to summarize. 

Why don’t we start with you, Dr. Sheets? 

6 

STATEMENT OF D. NATHAN SHEETS, Ph.D., NOMINATED TO BE 

UNDER SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, WASHINGTON, DC 

Dr. SHEETS. Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Hatch, and 

members of the Committee on Finance, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you this morning as you consider my nomination to serve as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. 

I am honored that President Obama has nominated me for this 

position. If confirmed, I look forward to working with Secretary 

Lew, the Treasury staff, and others in the administration. I also 

look forward to working closely with this committee and with others in Congress in pursuing international economic policies that advance the interests and well-being of the American people. 

The full thrust of my professional career has been focused on 

international economics and public policy, and I believe it has prepared me to serve in this position of public trust. The bulk of my 

experience has come as an economist on the Federal Reserve 

Board’s International Finance Division, where I worked for 18 

years. 

Notably, my first major assignment was monitoring developments in Russia and Ukraine. Experience has proved remarkably 

helpful in recent months. In subsequent assignments, I covered 

Japan; the emerging market economies, including China; U.S. 

trade and current account issues; and the evolving outlook for global growth. I also served in the U.S. Executive Director’s office at 

the IMF where I became acquainted with the Fund from the inside. 

In September of 2007, as the global financial crisis erupted, I 

was appointed director of the Federal Reserve Board’s International Finance Division. In this role, I managed a large team of 

analysts and regularly advised the board and the Federal Open 

Market Committee, or FOMC, on global economic and financial 

issues. Through the dark days of the crisis, I focused on the rapidly 

evolving challenges, such as risks to the dollar, financial stability 

stresses, and tensions emanating from Greece and other vulnerable 

European countries. 

I also participated in a full slate of international meetings, including those at the G–20, the G–7, the OECD, and the Bank for 

International Settlements. The responsibilities of this position were 

in many respects parallel to those of the Treasury Under Secretary 

for International Affairs. 

More recently, I complemented my almost 2 decades of publicsector experience with 21⁄2 years as a global economist in the private sector. During this time, I met face-to-face with hundreds of 

investors throughout the world. This dialogue has given me a deeper sense of how markets actually function, and where risks to our 

financial system may arise. 

Throughout my career, I have developed close working relationships with senior policy officials and market participants in the 

United States and abroad. It is my conviction that effective international policymaking is predicated on strong personal relationships and the ability to connect with counterparts. I have experience honed during the financial crisis, drawing on such relationships to achieve effective international cooperation. 

7 

Looking ahead, my sense is that there is still work to be done 

in implementing the lessons of the global financial crisis. This includes further fortifying our financial sector and, in the process, 

working with international counterparts to ensure that they follow 

suit, advocating strong domestic demand-led policies on our major 

trading partners, and preparing our economies to absorb the headwinds associated with shifting demographics. 

The number-one priority continues to be promoting job creation 

and boosting U.S. and global growth. The work ahead also includes 

advancing the President’s trade agenda, which is geared toward 

providing expanded market access for American businesses and 

workers and, also, ensuring that we are able to compete on a level 

global playing field. 

Achieving the objectives of promoting job creation and boosting 

growth will require intensive engagement with Congress, our foreign trading partners in both bilateral and multilateral forums, 

and strong advocacy of the merits of freely floating, transparent, 

market-determined exchange rates. 

Progress has been made in recent years, but there nevertheless 

is much to be done. If confirmed, I look forward to working closely 

with you in pursuit of these objectives. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thanks very much, Dr. Sheets. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Sheets appears in the appendix.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Toloui? 

STATEMENT OF RAMIN TOLOUI, NOMINATED TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, WASHINGTON, DC 

Mr. TOLOUI. Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Hatch, and distinguished members of the Committee on Finance, it is a great 

honor to appear before you today as nominee to be Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the Treasury Department. 

Thank you for considering this nomination, and thank you to the 

committee staff for meeting with me over the past 2 weeks to discuss the key issues facing the United States in the global economy. 

I am deeply grateful to President Obama for nominating me and 

to Secretary Lew for his confidence in supporting my candidacy to 

join his senior leadership team. 

Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Hatch, I welcome this opportunity, if confirmed, to return to public service. The first 7 years 

of my professional life, from 1999 until 2006, I spent as a career 

civil servant in the International Affairs Division of the Treasury 

under President Clinton and President Bush. 

This was a period of extraordinary turbulence in emerging markets and of unique challenges for the United States. Among the 

issues I worked on at Treasury were the reintegration of postMilosevic Yugoslavia into the international community; early actions to build a coalition to combat terrorist financing post-9/11; 

and the international response to Brazil’s financial crisis in 2002, 

subsequent stabilization, and exit from IMF support. 

This formative period in my life shaped my view of the underlying pillars of good policymaking: serious analysis, open debate, 

close interagency coordination, effective diplomacy with our international partners, and strong partnership with the Congress. In an 

8 

imperfect world where policymakers must usually make decisions 

when information is incomplete and inconclusive, I believe these 

elements are crucial to maximizing the prospects for successful action. 

During the past 8 years as a portfolio manager at the asset management firm PIMCO—most recently as the global co-head of 

emerging markets portfolio management—I navigated another 

round of extraordinary turbulence from the perspective of an investor. In addition to being responsible for directing investments in 

emerging markets around the globe, I participated in the firm’s 

global portfolio strategy formulation before, during, and after the 

global financial crisis. 

These experiences helped me internalize the interplay between 

the tangible and intangible factors driving asset markets and shaping the global financial terrain in which policymakers act. They 

also gave me direct experience with engagement with foreign governments and the practical aspects of doing business globally, 

which I deepened during the past 2 years working and living in 

Singapore and chairing the firm’s Asia-Pacific portfolio committee. 

If confirmed, I look forward to bringing this combination of 

public- and private-sector perspectives back to the U.S. Government as the United States confronts the challenges ahead in the 

global economy and financial system. 

The Assistant Secretary for International Finance is responsible 

for overseeing the macro-dimensions of Treasury’s international engagement, policy coordination in the G–7 and G–20, regional and 

bilateral economic affairs, oversight of the IMF, foreign exchange 

and capital flows, and global financial markets. In executing these 

responsibilities, if confirmed, I hope to integrate bottom-up inside 

knowledge of how the policy gears turn within the U.S. Government with direct experience with capital allocation decisions and 

the practical operation of markets. 

My hope is that such experiences can inform better diagnosis of 

challenges, evaluation of policy options, and success in ultimately 

achieving the objectives of more jobs, higher incomes, and greater 

financial stability for U.S. workers and families. 

Thank you again for the privilege of appearing before you today 

and for your consideration, and I look forward to the opportunity 

to answer any questions you may have. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Toloui, thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Toloui appears in the appendix.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Dr. Cancian? 

STATEMENT OF MARIA CANCIAN, Ph.D., NOMINATED TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, WASHINGTON, DC 

Dr. CANCIAN. Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Hatch, and 

members of the committee, thank you for inviting me here today. 

I am honored to have been nominated by President Obama to serve 

as the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and 

Families at the Department of Health and Human Services and to 

have an opportunity to appear before you. 

9 

My grandparents came to the United States searching for religious freedom and the opportunity for a better life. My parents 

worked hard and taught my brother and me that the relative security that we enjoyed brought responsibilities not only to our family, 

but also to the broader community. They encouraged me to take an 

interest in social issues, and this encouragement informed my decision to apply my skills as an economist to address social policy. 

With their words and example, they also provided me with a 

foundation to take risks and go beyond the narrow academic pursuits. In my professional life, this has meant working beyond campus boundaries in collaboration with colleagues in local, State, and 

Federal agencies to help design, implement, and evaluate public 

policies and programs serving families. 

In my personal life, my family has tried to live our values. As 

a foster family, we have shared our home and expanded our family 

in ways that have truly transformed our understanding of our community. I cannot imagine a greater responsibility or opportunity to 

serve than I would have were I confirmed as Assistant Secretary 

for Children and Families. 

Our future depends on the well-being and future productivity of 

our children. Parents today face many demands as they raise the 

next generation of Americans. Few families have a parent who 

stays at home full-time. Instead, parents typically must balance 

their responsibilities as parents and workers, and most American 

children will spend some portion of their life living apart from at 

least one of their parents, typically because their parents divorce 

or may never have married. The challenges of parenting are that 

much greater without the emotional and financial support of a stable marriage. 

Many of the programs within ACF support parents’ best efforts 

to provide for their children financially, as well as emotionally. 

Child care and early education programs keep children safe while 

their parents work and also provide a strong foundation for future 

learning. The child support system encourages non-resident parents to support their children financially, even when they do not 

live together. Teen pregnancy prevention and responsible parenting 

programs aim to encourage young people to avoid becoming parents 

while they are themselves still children and help parents recognize 

and meet their responsibilities. When parents do not have the resources to provide for their children, TANF may provide timelimited income support and services to become self-sufficient. And 

when parents cannot provide a safe environment for their children, 

the child welfare system is a safety net of last resort. 

The position of Assistant Secretary for the Administration for 

Children and Families requires both knowledge of the programs for 

which ACF is responsible and an ability to effectively manage a 

large organization. Twenty years’ engagement with research, outreach, and technical assistance has provided me with knowledge of 

many ACF programs. I have formed an appreciation of the challenges faced by policymakers, managers, and front-line staff in 

their efforts to implement these programs through my many collaborations with them at the Federal, State, and local levels. This 

appreciation and understanding was further developed when I 

served as a full-time fellow assigned to work on child welfare agenVerDate Mar 15 2010 18:04 Feb 06, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 R:\DOCS\92749.000 TIMD
10 

cies at the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in 

2010. 

Over the years, I have learned a great deal from working closely 

with policymakers and scholars from both political parties, across 

multiple administrations, finding common ground and a shared effort to do our best to strengthen American families. I also have significant organizational management experience, largely developed 

through my experience as an academic administrator. As associate 

dean for fiscal initiatives in the College of Letters and Science at 

the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I have been involved in 

university-wide efforts to reshape our budget and administration 

and have had primary responsibility for fiscal policy development 

and planning for a college with over 2,000 faculty and staff and 

22,000 students. During a period of increased enrollments and stable or declining State financial support, I have taken the lead in 

developing a new budget model to increase transparency and reallocate funding and staff resources to meet strategic priorities. 

I believe my research, policy, and administrative experience have 

prepared me to contribute to the very important work of ACF. If 

I am confirmed, I look forward to the opportunity to work with 

Congress, the dedicated professionals within ACF, partners in 

other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and the private and nonprofit sectors to ensure that we are wise stewards of 

public resources and do everything we are able to do to support 

America’s children and families. 

The CHAIRMAN. Doctor, thank you. We will have some questions 

here in a moment. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Cancian appears in the appendix.] 

The CHAIRMAN. We do have one formality. There are four questions that I need to ask each of you. 

Is there anything you are aware of in your background that 

might present a conflict of interest with the duties of the office to 

which you have been nominated? Let us just go down the row. 

Dr. SHEETS. No. 

Mr. TOLOUI. No. 

Dr. CANCIAN. No. 

The CHAIRMAN. Do you know of any reason, personal or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and honorably 

discharging the responsibilities of the office to which you have been 

nominated? 

Dr. SHEETS. No. 

Mr. TOLOUI. No. 

Dr. CANCIAN. No. 

The CHAIRMAN. Do you agree without reservation to respond to 

any reasonable summons to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of the Congress if you are confirmed? 

Dr. SHEETS. Yes. 

Mr. TOLOUI. Yes. 

Dr. CANCIAN. Yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. Do you commit to provide a prompt response in 

writing to any questions addressed to you by any Senator on this 

committee? 

Dr. SHEETS. Yes, I do. 

11 

Mr. TOLOUI. Yes. 

Dr. CANCIAN. Yes. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very good. Thank you. 

Let us start with you, Dr. Cancian, if we might. 

You, of course, have written extensively on family structure over 

the years, and, of course, the child support program is enormously 

important as it relates to this issue of family structure. 

Do you have some fresh ideas on how the child support program 

might be reconfigured in the days ahead to help bring families together rather than driving them apart? 

Dr. CANCIAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes. I believe that the 

child support system has in recent years become increasingly focused on the role of non-custodial parents, generally fathers, in 

supporting their families, both emotionally and financially, and in 

doing more to pass through, for example, child support so that, 

when fathers pay child support, their family receives that funding, 

and the father has the satisfaction and the children know that the 

father is trying to support them and provide for his family. 

So that is an example of something that has been done with congressional leadership to make the system work better. 

The CHAIRMAN. So you would like to build on that? 

Dr. CANCIAN. I would. 

The CHAIRMAN. Because that is what is going on now, and it 

seems to me we have to do better, that is why I ask the question, 

what is ahead? 

Dr. CANCIAN. Well, I think what is ahead is continuing to change 

the culture. So one of the things that happened, for example, with 

the welfare reform policies is, we moved from a system of just writing checks to thinking about families more holistically and moving 

them toward self-sufficiency. 

Similarly, child support needs to move from a system where we 

think of child support as just a bill collection agency, if you will, 

to an agency that helps parents, in families where the parents are 

not living together, both support their families. 

There have been a number of efforts that the Office for Child 

Support Enforcement has been pursuing quite vigorously, including 

providing parenting support for nonresident parents, helping them 

access job opportunities so that nonresident parents can have the 

means to pay support, and doing what is often referred to as rightsizing child support orders to make sure that parents can meet 

their responsibilities. 

So I think all of those kinds of efforts are important. 

The CHAIRMAN. For the future. 

Dr. CANCIAN. For the future. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Sheets, let us talk a little bit about currency 

manipulation, if we might, because, as you know, this is an extraordinarily important issue. Senators on both sides of the aisle 

feel very strongly about this, and the Treasury’s own reports indicate that there is real abuse in the international monetary system 

and that there are countries that are not abiding by their international obligations. 

Now, you have heard Senators say it here on the Finance Committee and on the floor of the Senate: the Congress clearly wants 

this administration to do more, to do more effectively to address 

12 

currency manipulation by America’s trading partners. You have 

watched from the outside. Tell us, if you might, what you believe 

can be done to address this issue and relieve the pressure that is 

created by currency manipulation. 

Dr. SHEETS. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Thank you for that question. And let me underscore that I very much share your commitment and your passion on this score. 

I think one of the clear, unmistakable lessons of economic history 

is that, when certain countries try to grow their economies and try 

to grow their exports on the back of undervalued exchange rates, 

it creates significant risks for the global financial system and the 

global economy. So this would very much be a key area of emphasis 

for me, if confirmed, and I think it is a key area of emphasis for 

the administration. 

Now, to date, the Treasury’s approach has focused on vigorous 

engagement in bilateral and multilateral forums, and I think that, 

through that engagement, we are seeing some improvements. Current account surpluses in China and Japan are much smaller than 

they were, which means, in these countries, their imports are growing more rapidly than their exports, which is what we want to see 

happen. 

The renminbi is notably stronger in price-adjusted terms against 

the dollar than it was 3 or 4 years ago. So I think we are seeing 

progress, but, as I indicated in my statement, I see significant work 

yet to be done. 

I think what this is going to require is ongoing commitment and, 

if I may say, a recommitment to this, with vigorous interactions, 

vigorous engagement with trading partners. And I also understand 

that there are a whole range of ideas and perspectives that are 

being considered now, and I very much look forward to working 

with you and your staff and others on the committee to explore 

some other possible ways forward. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very good. 

Mr. Toloui, I have a question for you, essentially to try to have 

you offer up your thoughts on where, in effect, the global economy 

is headed. Our continual discussions in various kinds of financial 

publications, in particular, say that things are still on the mend 

after 5 years, that not enough is being done to keep a crisis from 

reappearing. 

Why don’t you, if you might, just outline what you see as the biggest risks and the biggest dangers to the kind of economic growth 

and stability that the country wants? 

Mr. TOLOUI. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for that question. It is something that I have thought a lot about, and I know 

that Dr. Sheets has thought a lot about it. I think that the main 

challenge that we face in the global economy is that growth still 

remains too slow, and it is very difficult to discern how sustainable 

it is absent policy support from governments around the world. 

I think that the main challenge, this many years after the global 

financial crisis, remains to develop stronger organic momentum in 

the global economy, and you see that in developed countries, which 

are growing around 2 percent, and emerging market countries, 

which are slowing down. 

13 

So I think one important function of the International Affairs Division of the Treasury Department is to use the various multilateral and bilateral policy dialogues we have to not only understand 

the economic circumstances in these countries, our international 

partners, but also to encourage them to take more vigorous action 

to boost domestic demand in their economies, and that includes not 

only the macroeconomic tools of monetary and fiscal policy, but also 

structural reforms to encourage private sector-led investment and 

expand household demand, which is particularly important in some 

of the largest economies in the globe, such as China and Japan. 

The CHAIRMAN. Very good. 

Senator Hatch? 

Senator HATCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I support all three of you. So I really should not be asking many 

questions. 

But let me just ask you, Dr. Sheets: can you assure me that you 

will make conclusion of an ambitious and comprehensive Trade in 

Services Agreement, or TISA, a priority? 

Dr. SHEETS. Absolutely. 

Senator HATCH. Okay. That is good enough for me. I knew you 

would. [Laughter.] 

Mr. Toloui, do you believe that the International Monetary Fund 

can play a more effective role in monitoring currency valuations 

and ensuring that currency values are determined by market-based 

principles? 

Mr. TOLOUI. Thank you, Senator Hatch. I think that that is a 

project where we can continue to improve. I think that there have 

been some improvements in the International Monetary Fund in 

terms of new reports which explicitly discuss global imbalances, 

but I think that we should be more effective in using those reports 

as a platform for policy action with some of our key trading partners. 

Senator HATCH. Thank you. 

Dr. Cancian, do you share my view that an over-reliance on 

congregate-care facilities or group homes contributes to negative 

outcomes for children and youth in our foster care system? 

Dr. CANCIAN. Thank you, Senator Hatch. Yes. I share your concern about overuse of group homes. I am very encouraged by the 

declines that we have seen recently in a census of group homes, 

and I look forward, if confirmed, to working on ways to try to encourage greater decline. 

Senator HATCH. So you will work with me to limit group home 

placements for children and youth in foster care? 

Dr. CANCIAN. Absolutely. 

Senator HATCH. I appreciate that. 

Well, I support all of you, and we appreciate your willingness to 

serve our government, and we think you are excellent choices, in 

my opinion anyway, and I think most people would agree with that 

opinion. 

Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Hatch. 

You can see that you are getting positive signals from both the 

majority and the minority with respect to your qualifications, and 

it is my hope that we can move all three of you quickly through 

14 

the committee and see you confirmed and out and about on your 

important duties. 

Would any of you like to add anything else for the committee? 

[No Response.] 

The CHAIRMAN. With that, the Finance Committee is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:43 a.m., the hearing was concluded.] 

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