Utahn among group OK'd by U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate has approved President Bush's nominees for seven posts at the Treasury, including the department's No. 2 position, after settling a dispute with Montana Democrat Max Baucus over Cuba.

Among those confirmed was Randal K. Quarles, a Roy native.

Earlier Friday, Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, removed his four-month "hold" on Treasury appointments after Secretary John Snow relaxed restrictions on farm exports to Cuba that the department had imposed in March. That allowed the committee to approve the five nominees on its docket, opening the way for consideration by the full Senate.

The spat left Treasury's ranks depleted at a time when overhauling Social Security and the tax code and freezing assets of suspected terrorists are at the top of Bush's domestic agenda.

"I'm grateful the Senate acted today to put in place at Treasury a team of superb individuals to carry out the critical issues before the department," Snow said in a statement released Friday in Washington. "I commend the tremendous staff at the Treasury Department for their hard work over the past months."

After clearing the Finance committee, the Senate approved the nominations of Robert Kimmitt, to be deputy secretary of the Treasury; Quarles, to be under secretary for domestic finance; Timothy Adams, under secretary of Treasury for international affairs; Sandra Pack, to be assistant secretary for management; and Kevin Fromer, deputy under secretary for legislative affairs.

Quarles, who graduated from Roy High School and received a law degree from Yale, was previously assistant secretary of the Treasury for international affairs.

Previous posts held by Quarles include executive director of the U.S. International Monetary Fund and deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for financial institutions policy.

Before joining the Bush administration, Quarles was a partner at the international law firm of Davis, Polk and Wardwell in New York City. He is married to Hope Eccles, who serves on the University of Utah board of trustees and is an adviser to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on higher education issues.

In separate referrals, the Senate also accepted John Dugan as comptroller of the currency and John Reich as director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Baucus blocked the confirmations after the department in February changed its rules to make U.S. shippers collect payment before allowing agricultural goods to leave the U.S. for Cuba.

U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba had grown from nothing in 2000, when Congress first authorized them, to about $400 million in 2004.

Farmers said Treasury's change would reduce sales because Cuban assets in the U.S. are subject to seizure. Until February, farmers could ship goods to Cuba and collect payment when the ships reached port but before the products were offloaded.

Treasury Friday agreed to let farmers ship goods to Cuba when payment was received by a bank in a third country, protecting those goods and money from seizure.