Jack Lew: 'We have a lot of work to do' on economy

Jack Lew: 'We have a lot of work to do' on economy

Jeff Morganteen | @jmorganteen

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Jack Lew, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. is leading the global economic recovery, despite having "a lot of work to do" by our own country's standards.

"We're doing our part," Lew said on "Squawk Box." "We made tough decisions six years ago, and we stuck with them. We have our economy growing. We reformed our financial system. We have our fiscal house in a much better place."

Lew said the U.S. economy has made solid progress since the depths of the Great Recession, but some industries still lag. He said sectors such as home construction usually contribute to economic recovery, but they have stumbled in recent years. Now they have the potential to give the economy a much-needed boost, he said.

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"We have to remember we've come a long way," Lew said. "We've made a lot of progress. We came from a bad place."

His comments come as the U.S. faces rising geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Last month, Lew said the economic sanctions issued by President Barack Obama "had real consequences," responding to criticisms that the sanctions were not strict enough.

Lew last spoke to "Squawk Box" in January from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During that interview, Lew told CNBC he thought bitcoin was a "phenomenon" and he warned about keeping the digital currency from criminals and terrorism.

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Lew, 58, was sworn into office in February 2013 after a stint as Obama's chief of staff.

—By CNBC's Jeff Morganteen. Reuters contributed to this report.

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Subject: CNBC.com Video: Lew: US leading global economic recovery

In a wide-ranging interview, CNBC's Steve Liesman talks with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew about how the U.S. is sparking economic growth.
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000265013