The government has introduced a pair of new programs that will provide $800 billion to help unfreeze the market for consumer debt which Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson calls vital to supporting the economy.

Paulson says key markets for consumer debt such as credit cards, auto loans and student loans essentially came to a halt in October. He says the new programs are aimed to get lending back to more normal levels.

Paulson says all the government programs have been aimed at supporting the lending that is vital to the economy.

Asked if he had consulted with President-elect Barack Obama's Treasury secretary-designate Tim Geithner, current president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Paulson said he worked hand in hand with Geithner. 

"We worked as a team and he was working right with us all weekend and that's his job as with (Federal Reserve chairman) Ben Bernacke and (FDIC chief) Sheila Beir," he said. "It's very important that the next team understand everything we have in place and be able to carry (the programs) out effectively and I would say that Tim is very well positioned for that because he understands what we have in place today and participated very actively in helping put it in place."