Geithner: Austin IRS Workers Saved 'Many, Many Lives' After Plane Attack

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday praised the IRS workers who helped clear people out of the Austin office building that was attacked by a disgruntled software engineer last week.

The agency deserves "our honor and our respect," said Geithner, who visited employees from the office Monday with IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. Geithner said workers acted quickly to save lives after pilot Joe Stack flew his plane into the building last Thursday.

"It was just extraordinary to look in the eyes of those people and hear them tell the story of what they did, working together, to get out of that building as quickly as possible. They saved many, many lives," Geithner said, at the start of testimony about stimulus spending before the House Budget Committee.

IRS employee Vernon Hunter, as well as Stack, died in the attack.

Geithner said Wednesday that he has "tremendous pride and respect" for IRS employees.

"They do a necessary, important thing, and we all owe them our honor and our respect," Geithner said.