John W. Snow

John W. Snow   (politician)
Born	John William Snow 1939-08-02 Toledo, Ohio
Nationality	US
Alma mater	Kenyon College, University of Toledo, University of Virginia, George Washington University Law School
Religion	Methodist
Party	Republican
US Business leader and Secretary of the Treasury  US/Secretary of the Treasury  In office February 3, 2003 - June 30, 2006 Deputy Samuel Bodman, Robert Kimmitt Succeeded by Robert Kimmitt

John William Snow, was picked by George W. Bush in 2003 to be the 73rd Secretary of the Treasury. Snow was forced to resign in 2006 when it was uncovered that Snow failed to pay income taxes on the $24 million of loan forgiveness he received while CEO of CSX Corporation.

Nomination

Snow was nominated by George W. Bush to be the 73rd Secretary of the Treasury on January 13, 2003, and was "unanimously confirmed" by the U.S. Senate on January 30, 2003. Sworn into office on February 3, 2003, Snow replaced Paul O'Neill.

"Snow's job will be to convince the public that deficits don't matter," BusinessWeek December 10, 2002. "His role won't be so much to push the merits of Bush's policies on Capitol Hill, where the White House probably has the votes to muscle most of them through without his help. Rather, it will be to calm his fellow corporate execs, who are so skittish about the stock market and the war against Iraq that they're afraid to invest in new capital equipment. If he can settle their nerves, Snow's tenure will be deemed a success. But first, he's going to have to shed whatever Main Street worries he harbors about that deficit."

Profiles

According to his Department of the Treasury bio, "Snow was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CSX Corporation, where he successfully guided the transportation company though a period of tremendous change. During Snow's twenty years at CSX, he led the Corporation to refocus on its core railroad business, dramatically reduce injuries and train accidents, and improve its financial performance.

"Snow's previous public service includes having served at the Department of Transportation as Administrator (1976-77) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Deputy Undersecretary (1975-76), Assistant Secretary for the Governmental Affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Plans and International Affairs.

"Snow's knowledge of international industry stems from his tenure as Chairman of the Business Roundtable, the foremost business policy group comprised of 250 chief executive officers of the nation's largest companies. During his tenure as Chairman from 1994 through 1996, he played a major role in supporting passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"Snow is also recognized as a leading champion of improved corporate governance practices. He is a former co-chairman of the influential Conference Board's Blue-Ribbon Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise. He was also co-chairman of the National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement in 1992[-93] that made recommendations following the savings and loan crisis.

"John Snow was born in Toledo, Ohio, on August 2, 1939, and graduated in 1962 from the University of Toledo. He later earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia (1965) where he studied under two Nobel Prize winners. Snow graduated with a law degree from the George Washington University in 1967 and then taught economics at the University of Maryland, University of Virginia, as well as law at George Washington. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in 1977 and a Distinguished Fellow at the Yale School of Management from 1978 until 1980."

CSX Corp

Snow assumed the dual position of chairman and CEO at CSX Corporation in 1991. "He was awarded the Marco Polo Award, the highest honor given to a foreign business leader by the U.S.-China Foundation for International Exchanges, in 2001."

"Snow, 63, joined the railroad in 1977 as vice president of government affairs with the Chessie System, a CSX predecessor, and became president and CEO of CSX Corporation's railroad unit in 1985. He was elected president and CEO of the Corporation four years later, and added the title of chairman in 1991.[1]

"Snow is [or has served as] a director of CarMax, U.S. Steel, Johnson and Johnson, Verizon Communications and Sapient Corporation. He serves [or has served] on the boards of Johns Hopkins University, is Chairman of the Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board, and the Association of American Railroads and is a member of the Business Council and Business Roundtable."

Controversy

Independent journalist Molly Irvins wrote of him:

"And the new treasury secretary, what a record we have here! John Snow, chairman of a champion corporate tax-dodger. According to Citizens for Tax Justice, Snow's company, CSX Corp., a railroad, paid no federal income tax at all in three of the past four years. Instead of paying taxes, CSX supplemented its over $1 billion in pretax profits (Los Angeles Times) over the four years with a total of $164 million in tax rebate checks from the federal government. Just the guy we need at Treasury — makes a profit, pays no taxes and gets tax rebates on the taxes he didn't pay. During the same period, CSX gave Snow $36 million in salary, bonuses, stock and options, and forgave a $24 million loan so he would not lose money along with other shareholders as the company's stock price declined. Lends a whole new meaning to 'Snow job.'

"Snow's appointment also enthused our friends at Public Campaign, who found that under Snow's leadership, CSX became one of the 100 biggest overall campaign contributors from 1989 to the present. 'The company consistently ranked in the top 10 among transportation companies in influence-buying, giving $5.9 million in that period. Republicans got 72 percent of the total.'

"But what a payoff on the investment! A mere $5.9 million in campaign contributions over 13 years and they got $164 million in the last four years in tax rebates without ever paying taxes. I'm telling you, this guy Snow is a genius, and I have perfect faith that as the Bush team moves ahead to cut more taxes for the rich — because we already have deficit — fight a $200 billion war and increase defense spending, the books at Treasury will balance nicely."

Further affiliations

Snow has been a director for Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc.; Circuit City Stores, Inc.; NationsBank Corp.; Textron Inc.; USX Corporation; the U.S.-Japan Business Council; Verizon Communications; and the Association of American Railroads.

Snow was the founding Chairman of the Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED), a coal and rail industry-funded advocacy organization. CEED was a predecessor organization to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).

He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation.

He has been a member of the Business Roundtable; the Executive Committee of The Business Council; the Virginia Business Council; and the National Coal Council.

On October 19, 2006, Snow was named chairman of Cerberus Capital Management.

On August 15, 2007, Snow was appointed the inaugural Newman Visiting Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

He joined the Board of Directors of Marathon Petroleum Corporation in 2011, when that company was spun off from Marathon Oil Corporation.

Since 1992, Snow has been an avid supporter of Israel as he stated on Charleston, South Carolina's Good Morning Charleston television program.

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