Members of the Senate Finance Committee reprimanded Timothy Geithner today for not paying $40,000 in taxes, but appeared ready to recommend the full Senate confirm him as Treasury Secretary despite his financial infractions, Roll Call reports. “I apologize for putting you in the position where you had to look into this, especially now,” Geithner said of his tax transgressions.
Committee members grilled Geithner for nearly four hours on entitlement reform and the management of the bailout program, with some calling for stricter reporting rules on the financial system. Geithner partially used the hearing to make a case for the Obama stimulus, which he said would “help get people back to work, encourage private investment and break the cycle currently crippling our economy.” (More Timothy Geithner stories.)