A US Senate panel on Thursday approved the nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to run the US central bank for another four years.
The Senate Banking Committee voted 16-7 to send Bernanke’s nomination to the full Senate for consideration. Approval came after a two-hour debate that heaped both praise and criticism on the Fed chief.
Although Bernanke, 56, appears to have enough votes in the Senate to win a second term, six Republicans and one Democrat on the committee did line up against him. They blame him for not spotting problems that led to the financial crisis, failing to protect consumers and supporting Wall Street bailouts.
Bernanke’s nomination comes at the height of public anger toward the Fed.
Many ordinary Americans were disgusted by the Wall Street bailouts and hefty bonuses paid to employees of those rescued companies, while ordinary Americans continued to suffer from rising unemployment, record-high home foreclosures and stagnant wages.
In turn, legislation in Congress would rein in the Fed’s powers, and a House-passed provision would subject the Fed to an audit by congressional investigators.
Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top-ranking Republican on the committee, was among the seven senators voting no.
“Our trust and confidence were misplaced,” Shelby said of Bernanke’s leadership.
The others were: Republicans Jim Bunning of Kentucky, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, David Vitter of Louisiana, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Mike Crapo of Idaho. The sole dissenting Democrat was Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent liberal from Vermont, wants to block the nomination on the Senate floor. He has placed a “hold” on the nomination, meaning it will require a super-majority of 60 votes to confirm Bernanke.
Bernanke’s term ends on Jan. 31 and unless Sanders relents a full Senate vote on his nomination is not expected until next month.
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