Steve Preston
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| Steve Preston | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office June 5, 2008 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Alphonso Jackson |
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| Political party | Republican |
Steven C. Preston (born ca. 1961) is the 14th Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on April 18, 2008[1] and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on June 4, 2008.[2]
He was formerly the 22nd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Prior to leading the SBA, he was Executive Vice President of Strategic Services at ServiceMaster, Inc.
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[edit] Early life and business career
Steven Preston grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and he attended Parker High School, where he was class valedictorian and president of the student congress. He earned a B.A. in political science at Northwestern University in 1982 and a master's degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1985.
Preston worked as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers, becoming a Senior Vice President. From 1993 to 1997, he worked as Senior Vice President and Treasurer of First Data Corporation. In 1997 he was hired by ServiceMaster as Chief Financial Officer and was later promoted to Executive Vice President.
He has lived in New York City and Hong Kong as well as in Western Europe, including Italy, while on international business assignments.
[edit] Government career
President George W. Bush nominated him to the post on April 25, 2006.[3] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on June 29, and was sworn in on July 10.[4]
Preston's nomination as SBA head was cause for concern for some in Washington. This was due to the fact that he had never started a business, nor worked for any small or mid-sized companies, since getting his MBA.[5]
[edit] Nomination for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
President Bush[1] nominated Administrator Preston as HUD Secretary on April 18, the same day that former secretary Alphonso Jackson's resignation became effective.[6] During his confirmation hearing, on May 22, Senators asked him about HUD's transparency problems and about the Housing crisis.[7] They were also impressed with his tenure as SBA Administrator.[7] While there was no direct reason to deny Administrator Preston's confirmation,[8] his confirmation was delayed while Senator Lamar Alexander placed a hold on a nominee for the Institute of Peace[9] in protest of Majority Leader Harry Reid's refusal to consider two nominees to the Tennessee Valley Authority board.[9] Preston was unanimously confirmed on June 4.
[edit] References
- ^ a b President Bush Announces Nomination of Steve Preston as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, White House, Office of the Press Secretary.
- ^ Holzer, Jessica, "Bush praises new HUD secretary", The Hill, June 5, 2008. Accessed June 5, 2008.
- ^ Steven Clyde Preston Presidential Nomination, White House, Nominations by Name
- ^ Frawley, Anne Marie. "Steven C. Preston Sworn In As Administrator of SBA", SBA News Release, U.S. Small Business Administration, 2006-07-11. Retrieved on 2006-10-23.
- ^ Hofman, Mike. "Can This Man Turn Around the SBA?", Inc. Magazine, June 2006, p. 29. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ "Jackson to Step Down as HUD Secretary", News Release 80-046, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, March 31, 2008
- ^ a b HUD Nominee Seems Headed for Confirmation. CQ Politics, 2008-05-22. Accessed 2008-06-05. "Steven C. Preston, nominated to be HUD secretary, received bipartisan compliments Thursday from members of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for his work as administrator of the Small Business Administration. The panel's questions for Preston ranged from the housing crisis to the lack of transparency in HUD."
- ^ Carlstrom, Gregg. Senators question nominee for top HUD post. Federal Times, 2008-05-23. Accessed 2008-05-28. "Democrats and Republicans vowed to move quickly to confirm President Bush's nominee to lead the embattled Housing and Urban Development Department."
- ^ a b Alexander retaliates over TVA board appointments. Charlotte Examiner, 2008-05-23. Accessed 2008-06-03. "Alexander placed a hold on a confirmation vote to put a Nevada surgeon on the board of the government-funded group that facilitated the bipartisan Iraq Study Group because of Reid's opposition to the TVA board nominees."
[edit] External links
- Secretary Preston’s Biography Page, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- ServiceMaster press release
- SBA bio (PDF)
| Preceded by Hector Barreto |
Administrator of the United States Small Business Administration 2006 – 2008 |
Succeeded by TBD |
| Preceded by Alphonso Jackson |
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Served Under: George W. Bush 2008 – present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Michael Leavitt |
United States Presidential Line of Succession 11th in line |
Succeeded by Mary Peters |
| Preceded by Michael Leavitt |
United States order of precedence as of 2008 |
Succeeded by Mary Peters |
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