Christopher Smith
Chief of Staff
Christopher A. Smith is the Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Treasury. In his current position, Smith is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Department generally and the Secretary's office specifically, coordinating policy development and review within the Department and with other agencies and the White House and assisting in setting the overall strategic direction of the Department. He is also responsible for advising the Secretary on a wide variety of policy and management issues as well as on economic and market conditions.
Mr. Smith previously served from 2001 to December 2003 as Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury. He provided advice and counsel to the Secretary and senior members of the Administration’s economic team. He concentrated his efforts on advancing high priority legislative and policy matters on the Administration’s domestic agenda, including: tax relief, economic growth and jobs, health care, retirement security, homeland security, the budget, and domestic finance. Smith served as a coordinating agent among the various offices encompassing domestic policy within Treasury, and with the National Economic Council. In particular, he worked closely with the Office of Tax Policy to advance the Administration’s tax agenda. He represented the Department on a number of interagency and White House working groups. He acted on the Secretary’s behalf as an advocate and liaison to the Congress, primarily to the tax writing Committees and Congressional Leadership, as well as with external groups, and advised the Secretary on legislative and political strategy.
Mr. Smith served on the Bush-Cheney Presidential Transition Team’s Treasury policy group from December, 2000 through inauguration. In particular, he helped prepare the President-elect’s budget and tax relief plans for subsequent action. He conducted in-depth reviews of selected Treasury transition areas, and advised the Secretary-designate in preparation for Senate confirmation.
In 2000, Mr. Smith was the Chief of Staff for the House Committee on Ways and Means. He advised Chairman Bill Archer, Committee Members, and the House Leadership on all matters coming before the Committee, including legislative, policy, budget, and political strategies. He implemented these strategies by overseeing the Committee’s 50 person majority staff and its diverse work in the areas of taxation, trade, health care, Social Security, and human resources.
Mr. Smith was the Ways and Means Deputy Chief of Staff from 1995 until 2000. He coordinated day to day management of committee operations during action on key initiatives such as the Contract with America, welfare reform, the 1997 balanced budget and tax relief legislation, and the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act. He served as a senior advisor to the Chairman and Chief of Staff on legislative, policy, budget, and political decisions and on general legal matters.
Mr. Smith served on the Ways and Means Minority staff from 1988 to 1994 as a Professional Assistant for International Trade, where he was a key participant in legislation implementing major trade agreements, including the Uruguay Round and North American Free Trade Agreements; and as a Professional Assistant for Oversight and Investigations, where he conducted significant oversight investigations and advanced remedial legislation on a variety of issues.
Before moving to the Committee, Mr. Smith was a budget examiner and special assistant at the Office of Management and Budget from 1987 to 1988, and a program evaluator at the U.S. General Accounting Office from 1986 to 1987.
Mr. Smith received a B.A. degree in economics from Dickinson College in 1983 and a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University (GWU) in 1986. He was awarded a Presidential Management Internship (PMI) under the Reagan Administration upon graduation. Mr. Smith received the GWU Department of Public Administration’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1997.