Obama said he "absolutely" stands behind Thomas A. Daschle, the president's nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary who amended his U.S. tax returns Jan. 2 to pay $140,000 in back taxes and interest, Bloomberg reported.
Daschle also won the support of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, whose panel will meet today with the nominee. Daschle, a former Senate Democratic leader, also had been named by Obama to head a new White Office of Health Reform and was viewed as the new administration's leading spokesman on its efforts to expand health coverage to more Americans and reduce medical costs.
Daschle, in a letter to the Finance Committee, said he was "deeply embarrassed" about his tax errors. He amended his 2005, 2006 and 2007 returns to add unreported consulting fees, unspecified charitable contributions and a car and driver provided by Leo Hindery Jr., founder of the private-equity firm InterMedia Advisors, a committee draft report said.
"The ability to advance meaningful health reform is my top priority in confirming a Secretary of Health and Human Services, and I remain convinced that Senator Daschle would be an invaluable and expert partner in this effort," Baucus said in an e-mailed statement today. "I am eager to move forward together."
The president made his comment in a one-word response to a question from reporters at a White House event today.
Daschle's nomination must be confirmed by the finance committee. Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona, a panel member, said on "Fox News Sunday" that it's too early to tell whether the nomination is in trouble.
Kyl, who said he received a staff report outlining the situation late on Jan. 30, said Republicans would question Daschle about his taxes, try to "understand his explanation and then have a conversation about it and see where it goes."
Baucus, in an e-mailed statement today, said his "faith" in Daschle's "dedication and qualifications has only been bolstered in recent weeks by our numerous conversations about the pressing need for comprehensive health-care reform."
"I will comment further once I've had a chance to hear my fellow Senators' thoughts," Baucus said.
Daschle, 61, was aware in June that his free use of a car service might be taxable, according to the draft report to the Finance Committee. His letter to the committee said the corrections were made voluntarily.
"I apologize for the errors and profoundly regret that you have had to devote time to them," Daschle said in the letter sent to Baucus and the committee's ranking Republican, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa. "I will be happy to answer any committee members' questions about these issues."
Daschle's accountant decided in December that Daschle's tax returns had to reflect use of the car, after the presidential vetting team raised the question of whether certain charitable donations were deductible, Daschle wrote in the letter.
"When my accountant realized I would need to file amended returns, he suggested addressing another matter I had raised with him earlier in the year: whether the use of a car service offered to me by a close friend might be a tax issue," Daschle wrote. "In December, my accountant advised me that it should be reported as imputed income in the amended returns."
Daschle also hadn't reported a May 2007 consulting payment of $83,333 from InterMedia, which paid him that amount each month. The tax forms provided to Daschle by InterMedia for 2007 didn't include the payment because the money was transferred by a different method that month by a temporary clerk, InterMedia officials told the committee.