Another cabinet nominee,hilda solis facing tax issues

There's yet more tax trouble for President Obama's cabinet picks.

A Senate panel postponed a scheduled vote Thursday on President Obama’s nomination of Representative Hilda L. Solis as labor secretary, a day after questions were raised about tax liens against her husband’s business.

Hilda Solis, his selection for labor secretary, had her confirmation hearing delayed today by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, whose chairman is Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The committee only said in a statement that lawmakers need more time to review documentation submitted in support of Solis, a California congresswoman.

White House officials say they do not believe her confirmation has been jeopardized by a news report that Ms. Solis’s husband paid about $6,400 this week to settle tax liens on his auto repair business that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years.

The discovery posed another political headache for a White House already chafing after tax problems and other controversies derailed some administration appointments, including Tom Daschle’s nomination as health secretary. Mr. Obama said in television interviews this week that he would “make sure that we’re not screwing up again” in the vetting process.

Mr. Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said Ms. Solis’s own tax returns “are in order.”

“She’s not a partner in that business,” Mr. Gibbs said of the auto repair company. “So we’re not going to penalize her for her husband’s business mistakes.”

Asked if the Solis nomination was in trouble, Mr. Gibbs said, “I don’t believe it is at all.”

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the nomination of Solis is not in trouble, and said she should not be held responsible for the tax problems of her husband's business, in which she is not a partner.

Asked whether the White House urged Solis' husband to pay up, Gibbs replied, "If you owe taxes, you should pay them."

Earlier this week, Tom Daschle withdrew as Obama's nominee for health and human services secretary after an uproar over his unpaid taxes. And Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner survived his failure to pay taxes on time.

John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, issued a statement standing up for Solis and urging her swift confirmation.

"During these difficult economic times when hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs each week it is crucial that the American people have a strong and dynamic Department of Labor. We have confidence that Congresswoman Hilda Solis is the right person to lead that charge, and we hope a committee vote can be rescheduled soon," he said.

"Congresswoman Hilda Solis is eminently qualified for this post, and will be a vigorous advocate for the kinds of programs that our nations working people need the most. She will fight to improve skills development and job creation programs, including development of 'green collar' jobs. She will work to assure that workers get the pay they have earned and that they work in safe, healthy, and fair workplaces. Shes ready to address the retirement security crisis and will work hard to protect every worker from job discrimination, regardless of race, sex, veteran status, or disability.
"She understands that working men and women deserve the freedom to choose whether to form a union without employer interference. We urge the Committee and the full Senate to swiftly confirm Congresswoman Solis as our nations next Secretary of Labor and let her dig into the work which our nation so desperately needs her to do."