David McCormick, a former top executive at Pittsburgh technology firms FreeMarkets and Ariba who now serves in the Bush administration, said the government's recent $150 billion stimulus package and a series of federal policies aimed at reforming mortgage lending and other financial oversights, should help boost the ailing U.S. economy by year's end.

"With these efforts, along with the general flexibility and resiliency of the U.S. economy, we will work through these challenges," Mr. McCormick said in a lunchtime address at the Duquesne Club sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. "I have no doubt that the U.S. will weather the current storm and will emerge stronger than before."

Mr. McCormick, under secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, was president of Ariba, a software and services business, when he was tapped in 2005 to become under secretary of export administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Before taking the post at the Treasury Department in August 2007, he served in the White House as deputy national security adviser to President Bush for international economic affairs.

Asked after his speech what he thought of skyrocketing gas prices that are fast approaching $4 a gallon, Mr. McCormick said, "It's a huge burden on the U.S. economy, consumers and families. And not just in the U.S. It's a real concern. Unfortunately, it doesn't lend itself to near-term fixes."

Escalating fuel prices, he said, are the result of a "mismatch" of soaring demand and sluggish supply growth that can be addressed by opening up new global markets for oil and gas and developing alternative fuels.

Since leaving corporate Pittsburgh for government service, Mr. McCormick, 42, has traveled the world to represent the United States in negotiations about trade, financial and human rights issues.

Following trips last month to China, India, and the Ukraine, he flew in yesterday morning to Andrews Air Force Base from a Middle East assignment that included stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"In all those visits around the world, I get the same set of questions from leaders: What's going on in the U.S. economy? What are you doing about it? And will the U.S. continue to be a leader?"

His response, he said, is that despite a faltering housing market, tight credit and record-high energy prices, the United States can remain competitive by embracing globalization. That includes supporting more free-trade agreements, attracting foreign investment and raising the cap on temporary visas made available to foreign workers, he said.

When the Bush administration leaves the White House next January, Mr. McCormick, a Washington, Pa., native, West Point graduate and veteran of the first Gulf War, said he plans to take three to six months to contemplate his next move.

"My sense is I'll go back into the business world," he said, acknowledging that Pittsburgh is among the places where he would consider opportunities.

Having served on the World Affairs Council's board of directors when he lived here and been a frequent speaker for the group in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he was surrounded by friends and acquaintances after yesterday's address.

Settling into an armchair in a quiet corner of the Duquesne Club overlooking Sixth Avenue after the event, he remarked, "It's good to be back."