Treasury Secretary Jack Lew sounded positive notes about the U.S. economy Thursday morning, saying the nation is starting off 2014 “strong” and facing “economic tailwinds, not headwinds,” thanks to falling unemployment and what appears to be progress on fiscal affairs in Congress.

Lew said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations that over “the arc of the last half year, the trend of economic statistics — job statistics, confidence — it’s been strong, strong across sectors.”