July 15, 2008, Washington, D.C. - The Indian American Republican Council (IARC) commended the historic swearing in of Mr. Neel T. Kashkari as the second Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs.  Secretary Kashkari was nominated by President George W. Bush and recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  

"Neel Kashkari is eminently qualified to serve as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and his nomination and Senate confirmation is historic," said Dino Teppara, spokesman for the IARC.  "His education, public service, and private sector experience will serve him well in this new capacity.  We wish him the very best as he takes on his new role as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury."

Secretary Kashkari received both his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  Since 2006, he has served as Senior Advisor to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.  His private sector experience includes a stint as a Vice President with Goldman, Sachs & Co. with their IT Security Investment Banking practice, as well as developing technology for NASA space science missions as an aerospace engineer.

"President Bush was the first President to appoint an Indian American with the rank of Ambassador, the first to name an Indian American to the federal bench, and he has appointed more Indian Americans in his Administration than any other President in history," said Teppara.  "The nomination and confirmation of Secretary Kashkari demonstrates that President Bush continues to be a true friend of Indian Americans."