WASHINGTON — Timothy Geithner is expected to win Senate confirmation as Treasury secretary as early as this week after apologizing to senators Wednesday for making a number of errors on his income-tax returns.
Lawmakers warned Geithner that their constituents have serious concerns not only about his failure to pay $34,000 in taxes but also about how Washington is spending the $700 billion financial sector rescue and trying to revive the reeling economy.
The comments Wednesday by members of the Senate Finance Committee foreshadowed the coming debate on his confirmation. The committee is expected to vote today, with full Senate consideration shortly after.
Those debates are likely to feature views such as that expressed by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who last week said that he and his constituents were outraged about Geithner’s tax troubles.
On Wednesday, however, he said, “I haven’t heard a bunch of people screaming about it,” and added that it was more important to look closely at how the Obama administration will deal with the economy.
“They’ve got big problems, and a lot of Americans feel they have to have more answers,” Voinovich said, particularly about the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the government’s effort to rescue failing financial institutions. Many lawmakers are upset over how it’s being administered.
Geithner had to clear an early hurdle at Wednesday’s nearly four-hour hearing — explaining his tax problems.
“These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes. But they were unintentional. I should have been more careful. I take full responsibility for them,” Geithner said.
As Treasury chief, he’ll oversee the Internal Revenue Service, and many senators were uncomfortable that for four years Geithner failed to pay the self-employment taxes that millions of Americans pay every year. He’s since paid the IRS $42,000 in back taxes and interest.
“The person ultimately responsible for tax policy must be credible on the issues of tax reform and compliance,” said Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the committee’s top Republican.
