Jack Lew sat before the Senate Finance Committee for confirmation hearing

Jacob “Jack” Lew spoke to the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning for his confirmation hearing as a nominee for Treasury Secretary.

Lew, a former White House chief of staff and budget director, was questioned about his years as an executive of Citigroup during the recession.

According to the full text of his prepared speech by the Department of the Treasury, Lew said, “Our top priority is to strengthen the recovery by fostering private sector job creation and economic growth at a time when we must make sure our economy remains resilient to headwinds from beyond our shores.”

Lew added that the nation must move towards “fiscal sustainability.” Lew is known to be a no-nonsense man who will be cautious in introducing new budget proposals.

According to Politico, Lew had stated in September 2010 that he was not an expert in many areas within the financial industry despite his vast experience.

Lew’s stances on policy issues are similar to those of the former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was once the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.