Just two days after she revealed that she owed nearly $8,000 in back
taxes, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius faced largely friendly
questioning from the Senate Finance Committee Thursday – with no
questions at all asked about her tax situation.

The committee has jurisdiction over tax issues.

What’s more, only 11 senators – seven Democrats and four Republicans –
out of a total 23 committee members had questions for Sebelius, who is
President Obama’s choice to be secretary of health and human
services.

The sparse attendance and short, cordial exchanges between senators
and Sebelius was surprising, since the same committee grilled another
Obama nominee with tax problems in February -- current Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Sebelius, who had appeared Tuesday before Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-
Mass.) Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, was called
before the Finance Committee because it oversees Medicare and
Medicaid, two of the largest programs HHS administers.

Geithner had faced withering questions from Senate Republicans during
his contentious confirmation hearing, questions that eventually led to
his now famous admission that his use of tax preparation software
TurboTax might have led to his failure to pay nearly $35,000 in taxes.

Sebelius, however, faced no such questioning from the Senate’s tax
committee, despite her admission that she could not document claimed
charitable donations and had improperly deducted mortgage interest on
a home she no longer owned.


The only mention of Sebelius' financial issues came from the governor
herself, in response to committee chairman Max Baucus, who asked
whether anything in her background might prevent her from executing
her duties.

"Well senator, there were a couple of stocks found in my husband's
portfolio which have been identified by the ethics officer and we have
committed to, if I'm confirmed, divesting those stocks," Sebelius
admitted.

Only four of the committee’s 10 Republican members – Sens. Chuck
Grassley of Iowa; Olympia Snowe of Maine; Pat Roberts of Kansas and
Mike Enzi of Wyoming -- had any questions for Sebelius.

None of those questions involved Sebelius' tax situation.

Seven Democrats expressed satisfaction with her nomination -- and told
the nominee they hope that she will be easily confirmed.

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