U.S. Senate panel votes to confirm Obama’s pick for IRS chief

By Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Senate panel voted on Friday to confirm President Barack Obama’s choice to be the next Internal Revenue Service commissioner, sending his nomination to the full Senate. In a voice vote, the Senate Finance Committee, as expected, confirmed John Koskinen to be the next chief tax collector. The earliest the full Senate could vote would be on Monday. In May, the agency apologized for targeting conservative political groups inappropriately and the furor that ensued cost then-acting Commissioner Steve Miller his job.