Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner apologized on Wednesday for late payment of over 34,000 dollars in income taxes earlier the decade.
"These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes." Geithner told the Senate Finance Committee. "But they were unintentional. I should have been more careful."
"I have paid what I owed," Geithner said at the hearing. "I apologize to the committee for putting you in the position of having to spend so much time on these issues."
In his testimony, Geithner called for "fundamental reform" of the government's 700 billion dollar bailout plan, saying it favoured big financial institutions over small businesses and struggling families.
"Many people believe the programme has allowed too much upside for financial institutions, while doing too little for small business owners, families who struggling to keep their jobs and make ends meet, and innocent homeowners," said Geithner.
"We have to fundamentally reform this programme to ensure that there is enough credit available to support recovery," he added.
He also vowed to take swift actions to get credit flowing again.
"Our test is to act with the strength, speed and care necessary to get our economy back on track, and restore America's faith in our economic future," he said.