Treasury nomination clears Senate Finance Committee

The Senate Finance Committee Thursday easily approved Timothy Geithner's nomination to become Treasury secretary, but only after asserting that his failure to pay his taxes years ago could have disqualified him if his leadership at Treasury were not needed to deal with the financial crisis.

The committee voted 18-5 to send Geithner's nomination to the full Senate for a vote next week. Republican committee members again voiced concerns that Geithner, who would oversee the IRS as Treasury Secretary, failed to pay all of his taxes between 2000 and 2004 while he worked at the International Monetary Fund and repaid the full $34,000 when he was being considered for the Cabinet post.

"In normal times, that would be enough to cause me to oppose his nomination," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. "But these are not normal times."

Geithner, as head of the New York Federal Reserve, played a central role in the Bush administration's decision to respond to the Wall Street crisis with a $700 billion bailout package. President Barack Obama, eager for quick progress on the economic front, asked Geithner to steer the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

"There's room for criticism," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who supported the nomination. "What happened shouldn't have happened. He made honest mistakes. (But) this is the man the country needs at this time."