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Senate confirms Geithner as treasury secretary
Laurie Kellman - Associated Press
Issue date: 1/27/09 Section: News
WASHINGTON - New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner won confirmation Monday as President Barack Obama's treasury secretary despite personal tax lapses that turned more than a third of the Senate against him.
"Tim's work and the work of the entire Treasury Department must begin at once. We cannot lose a day, because every day the economic picture is darkening, here and across the globe," Obama told the audience before Geithner was sworn into office by Vice President Joe Biden.
The Senate voted 60-34 to put Geithner in charge of the administration's economic team as it races to halt the worst financial slide in generations. The swearing-in followed less than an hour later, the administration seeking to emphasize that it was wasting no time in trying to address the financial crisis.
Obama said there had been a "devastating loss of trust and confidence" and that the financial system was in "serious jeopardy."
In his remarks, Geithner said the new administration would work first to stabilize the financial system and get the economy growing again and then would move to reform the system.
"We are at a point of maximum challenge for our economy and our country," Geithner said to a standing-room only audience in Treasury Department's ornate Cash Room. On hand were Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, now director of Obama's National Economic Council.
Referring to Geithner's tax problems, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Geithner had made amends -- he has paid the taxes and penalties -- and possessed the talent needed to steer the nation out of the crisis.
Geithner, 47, served as undersecretary of the treasury for international affairs during the Clinton administration. As president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, he's been a key player in the government's response to collapsing financial institutions and the housing and credit markets since last summer.
"Tim's work and the work of the entire Treasury Department must begin at once. We cannot lose a day, because every day the economic picture is darkening, here and across the globe," Obama told the audience before Geithner was sworn into office by Vice President Joe Biden.
The Senate voted 60-34 to put Geithner in charge of the administration's economic team as it races to halt the worst financial slide in generations. The swearing-in followed less than an hour later, the administration seeking to emphasize that it was wasting no time in trying to address the financial crisis.
Obama said there had been a "devastating loss of trust and confidence" and that the financial system was in "serious jeopardy."
In his remarks, Geithner said the new administration would work first to stabilize the financial system and get the economy growing again and then would move to reform the system.
"We are at a point of maximum challenge for our economy and our country," Geithner said to a standing-room only audience in Treasury Department's ornate Cash Room. On hand were Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, now director of Obama's National Economic Council.
Referring to Geithner's tax problems, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Geithner had made amends -- he has paid the taxes and penalties -- and possessed the talent needed to steer the nation out of the crisis.
Geithner, 47, served as undersecretary of the treasury for international affairs during the Clinton administration. As president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, he's been a key player in the government's response to collapsing financial institutions and the housing and credit markets since last summer.
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