Timothy Geithner, 9th president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Vice Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee is now the 75th Secretary of the United States Treasury.
Vice President Biden administered the oath of office, after an introduction by President Obama.
At 6pm this afternoon, the Senate confirmed Geithner with a vote of 60-34, with 4 not voting. There were many questions about his suitability for the job, given that he failed to pay over $42,000 in back taxes, until after he was picked for the job by President Obama.
Geithner filed amended tax returns for years 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, reporting combined additional taxes and interest of $31,536. For years 2001 and 2002, the most substantial adjustments resulted from his failure to pay self-employment taxes on earned income while employed by the International Monetary Fund.
Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Geithner's mistakes were disappointing, given that he is expected to restore confidence in the US economy.
One of the questions asked by Senator Chuck Grassley was "How much does his troubled tax history reflect on his judgment as a decision-maker?"
Senator Jim Bunning spoke against Geithner, saying
"Even before the disclosure of Mr. Geithner's tax problems, I had serious reservations about his nomination. Mr. Geithner has been involved in just about every flawed bailout action of the previous administration. He was the front-line regulator in New York when all the so-called financial innovations that have recently brought our markets to their knees became widespread. He went along with the flawed monetary policy decisions of Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke. And he stretched the law beyond recognition to bail out Bear Stearns, and later A.I.G. All those actions or failures to act raise questions about the nominee's judgment, but his failure to pay his Social Security and Medicare taxes despite clear evidence he knew he owed the taxes reflects negligence or worse toward the laws he will be responsible for enforcing." Jim Bunning Statement
Baucus, a Democrat, eventually voted to confirm Geithner, while Bunning and Grassley, both Republicans, voted Nay. The vote was not split along party lines.
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