Geithner to testify before House committee

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will testify before Congress about the bailout of American International Group (AIG).

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called a hearing to look into the government's role in bailing out AIG and particularly the role of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Geithner will appear before the committee on Jan. 27, a congressional aide said on Thursday.

Geithner has come under heavy criticism after it was disclosed that Fed staffers urged AIG to limit the amount of information disclosed about billions of dollars in derivatives contracts.

Geithner was head of the New York Fed at the time, but a Treasury spokeswoman said he had recused himself at the time of the negotiations over AIG's derivatives. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Wednesday defended Geithner and said the congressional investigation was overtly partisan.