what is the u s treasury 
the u s treasury created in 1789 is the government department responsible for issuing all treasury bonds notes and bills 1 among the government departments operating under the u s treasury umbrella are the internal revenue service irs the u s mint the bureau of the fiscal service and the alcohol and tobacco tax and trade bureau 2key functions of the u s treasury include printing bills postage and federal reserve notes minting coins collecting taxes enforcing tax laws managing all government accounts and debt issues and overseeing u s banks in cooperation with the federal reserve 3 the secretary of the treasury is responsible for international monetary and financial policy including foreign exchange intervention 4understanding the u s treasurythe u s treasury is the cabinet level department responsible for promoting economic growth and security 3 it was established by the first congress of the united states which convened in new york on march 4 1789 following the ratification of the constitution 1 the secretary of the treasury is nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the u s senate establishmentthe u s constitution was ratified in 1788 replacing the articles of confederation under which the u s had functioned during and immediately following the american revolution 7 the constitution provided for a much stronger federal government and the establishment of a centralized treasury department was an important part of that 8alexander hamilton was the first secretary of the treasury and served until 1795 among his major accomplishments while he was secretary of the treasury were the federal government s assumption of the states debts related to the american revolution provisions for the payment of war bonds and the institution of a system for the collection of federal taxes 9internal revenue servicein 1861 president abraham lincoln implemented an income tax to pay for the civil war and in 1862 he created the position of commissioner of internal revenue 10 that tax was repealed in 1872 but the office lived on the income tax as it exists now began with the 1913 ratification of the 16th amendment to the u s constitution and the irs assumed responsibility for collection and enforcement 11treasury bills and bondsborrowing by the treasury is done through the issuance of shorter term notes called bills and longer term bonds the bonds have a maturity of as long as 30 years 12 treasury bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the u s government and as such are popular investments by governments companies and individuals worldwide 13the federal reserve bank buys and sells the bills and bonds to control the country s money supply and manage interest rates 1415who runs the treasury department the treasury department is headed by the secretary of the treasury who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate janet yellen is the treasury secretary in the biden harris administration yellen was previously the chair of the federal reserve from 2014 2018 5 she is the first woman to hold either position 6yellen s top deputy at the treasury department is adewale wally adeyemo he is a veteran of the obama administration and an expert on macroeconomic policy and consumer protection with national security experience 16