Senate panel OKs nomination of Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chief
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Amid GOP opposition, a Senate panel today voted 16-7 to approve the nomination of Ben Bernanke to head the Federal Reserve for four more years.
A day after Time magazine named him man of the year for saving the American economic system, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee raised questions about whether Bernanke should receive another term.
“I cannot support this nomination,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), echoing comments made by other Republican senators throughout the committee’s morning session.
“I supported Bernanke; his home state is South Carolina, and I like him personally,” DeMint said. “There is no reason to oppose except him except his failure to achieve his goals at the Federal Reserve. We can’t overlook that he presided over one of the nation’s biggest economic catastrophes.”
Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) argued that Bernanke’s support of bailouts for Wall Street and the Fed’s failure to protect Main Street were among the reasons Republicans had soured on the Fed chairman, appointed by President George W. Bush and recently nominated for a second term by President Obama for a second term.
“Our trust and confidence were misplaced,” Shelby said of Bernanke’s leadership.
Despite the GOP opposition, Bernanke’s nomination is expected to be approved by the full Senate sometime next month. Bernanke’s current term expires Jan. 31.
Even though he was praised by Time magazine, Bernanke remains the visible symbol of Americans’ anger over the current recession and the government’s bailout of Wall Street. Unemployment has skyrocketed, and retirement plans are still significantly down despite a reawakening in the stock and housing markets.
Banks, meanwhile, are doing well enough to repay the money lent by the government, freeing them to give high salaries and bonuses that typical Americans envy.
Responding to that anger, Obama recently met with top bankers to urge them to ease credit requirements to help small businesses and consumers.
Conservatives like DeMint and Shelby oppose Bernanke, in part, because he advocated a strong government response to deal with the financial collapse. Liberals, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) oppose Bernanke for not insisting on more in return for the taxpayer funds used to save financial institutions.
Before taking over the Fed in 2006, Bernanke had served as Bush’s top economic advisor. He has spent most of life teaching, including 17 years at Princeton, and doing economic research.
-- Michael Muskal
