Geithner says Congress standing in way of recovery ( BARC BCS ) (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the economy has slowed down and Congress is blocking needed support. In an interview on CNBC, Geithner noted that most economists are not predicting a recession. But he said the economy needs "a very substantial, well-designed program of support of economic growth" that should be tied to a long-term fiscal reform program. "The main thing that stands in the way of a stronger recovery is that Congress should act" on this package, Geithner said. While Washington is hard to read and mostly "evokes despair" at the moment, there is work underway behind-the-scenes to lay foundation for a long-term fiscal deal, he said. Geithner said Europe was a more severe risk to the recovery because it is outside control of U.S. policymakers. He said European leaders needed to take more action to defuse the debt crisis. Geithner defended his actions regarding manipulation of the Libor interest rate. He said that he brought the issue to the attention of U.S. regulators, which led to the case against British bank Barclays (uk.barc) (bcs) .