Both of Iowa’s U.S. senators voted against President Obama’s pick to head the U.S. Treasury and the I.R.S.
Timothy Geithner admits he failed to pay income taxes while he was working for the International Monetary Fund. He calls it a careless mistake. But both Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin say it was more than careless — it was a disqualification to hold the job of treasury secretary.
Harkin says it’s hard to understand someone with such "financial sophistication" making an error on their taxes and Harkin went on to say Geithner "made serious errors in his (most recent) job as chief regulator of the financial institutions at the heart of the current financial crisis."
Senator Grassley has been raising concerns about Geithner for days and in remarks on the Senate floor earlier today, Grassley said Geithner’s tax errors were "serious" and in tough financial times, the country’s top tax man should be held to higher rather than lower standards.
Grassley and Harkin were among 34 senators who voted "no." Sixty voted "yes" and Geithner was sworn in earlier tonight as treasury secretary.