Paulson said the current financial crisis had many causes, including government inaction and mistaken actions. Outdated , outdated U. S. and global regulatory systems, and too much risk-taking by financial institutions. He says his first priority has been to stabilize the system, he . He says the next will be to reform it.

" This debate offers great opportunities and great peril. The events of the last year had have exposed excesses and flaws that are, to put it mildly, humbling. It pre due If we do not correctly diagnose the causes and instead act in haste and implement more rather than better regulations, we can do long-term harm. "

Paulson says recovery will take time, and a new regulatory framework can not cannot be developed while the financial situation is unfolding.

The Treasury Secretary treasury secretary faced sharp criticism over his handling of the bailout when he appeared Tuesday before the House of Representatives Representative Financial Services Committee. The $700,000,000,000 rescue 700,000,000,000-rescue plan initially focused on buying bad-debt bad debt from banks that will us were left with nearly worthless securities after the Housing housing market collapsed. Paulson said a worsening situation called for a changing change of strategy, and he started making cash infusions into financial companies, was with the government taking an equity share, in order to get the institutions lending again.