Senator Cardin on Tim Geithner

Finally, two months after the fact Senator Cardin responded regarding my concerns of Tim Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury.
Here are his words of wisdom.

Dear Mr. Wolfe:

Thank you for your letter concerning the nomination of Timothy Geithner to be President Obama's Treasury Secretary.

I have heard from many constituents like you who are concerned that Mr. Geithner failed to pay the full amount of self-employment taxes he owed from 2001 through 2004 while he was employed at the International Monetary Fund. I share your concerns.

Mr. Geithner claims that the failure to pay these taxes was unintentional. He has since amended his returns for 2001 through 2004 and paid the full amount of back taxes and interest due to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). I have concerns because a 2006 IRS audit to Mr. Geithner revealed the shortcoming. Initially, he paid what he owed for 2003 and 2004; the IRS was prevented from collecting the taxes owed from 2001 and 2002 because of the statute of limitations. When the new administration's transition team started vetting Mr. Geithner's potential nomination, he paid his 2001 and 2002 back tax obligations. This is disturbing: as Treasury Secretary, Mr. Geithner is in charge of the IRS. Certainly, his credibility on tax compliance issues is weak.

In deciding whether to support Mr. Geithner's nomination, I weighed his transgression, serious as it is, against a lifetime of dedicated public service and the crucial experience he brings to the job. I also believe that for the most part, Presidents are entitled to choose their own cabinet members. For these reasons, I voted to confirm Mr. Geithner, but I did so in the hope and belief that publicly airing this matter has sufficiently chastened him and other potential nominees. This was a most difficult decision for me.

Again, I appreciate your contacting me about this issue. I hope that you will not hesitate to do so about this or any other matter of importance to you.