Ben Bernanke gets 70 votes from Senate for 2nd term

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 17: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke wipes his eyes during a hearing before the House Budget Committee January 17, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Bernanke was on the Hill to give his views on the outlook of U.S. economy and he said the economy has been growing slow. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Sadly expected. 70 U.S. senators on Thursday voted to confirm Ben Bernanke for a second four-year term at the head of the Federal Reserve, suggesting he would win the Senate’s needed approval. Michelle Malkin lists the stupid Republicans who actually voted for Bernanke.

Alexander, Barrasso, Coburn, Cochran, Collins, Enzi, Graham, Gregg, Hatch, Kyl, Lugar, McConnell, Murkowski, Voinovich, and Snowe.

MSNBC has more (sorry for linking to this site):

WASHINGTON – A majority of U.S. senators on Thursday voted to confirm Ben Bernanke for a second four-year term at the head of the Federal Reserve, suggesting he would win the Senate’s needed approval.

CNBC reported the final balloting was 70 for the confirmation, 30 against.

The Senate voted earlier in the day to overcome a delaying tactic that would have doomed his nomination.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here

Senate critics had arrayed themselves against Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, determined to take issue with his bid for a second term leading the nation’s central bank even as his confirmation seemed assured.

Bernanke needed a 60-vote super majority to beat a filibuster aimed at blocking his reappointment. He received enough votes.

“Bernanke fiddled while our markets burned,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., voicing a common complaint that Bernanke did not detect the coming crisis and failed to rein in the banking industry.

His supporters argue that once the crisis was upon him he used aggressive and creative measures to bring stability to the financial system.

“He has kept a steady hand on the tiller in a perfect economic storm,” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said.

The final confirmation vote could still be the slimmest for a Federal Reserve nominee, eclipsing the opposition to Paul Volcker in 1983, when he was confirmed for a second term by a vote of 84-16. No Fed chairman nominee has been rejected by the Senate.

The stock market has been rooting for Bernanke. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged last week amid news of mounting opposition, then recovered when his prospects brightened.

The Federal Reserve wields enormous power over American pocketbooks. It has the power to set interest rates that influence economic activity, employment and inflation. And it helps maintain economic stability by making emergency loans to banks when they can’t get cash elsewhere.

“I believe that the chairman is going to be confirmed by a bipartisan vote,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday.

Widely credited with avoiding a financial catastrophe, Bernanke has angered the public and lawmakers with his support of Wall Street bailouts — especially the $182 billion rescue of insurance giant American International Group Inc. The criticism has mounted as unemployment has risen to double digits and banks paid out huge bonuses to their executives.

“He was asleep at the switch while Wall Street became a gambling casino,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who is among the opposition.

The biggest challenge facing the Fed this year will be how and when to reverse course and raise interest rates. To foster the recovery, the Fed on Wednesday kept interest rates at a record low and pledged to hold them there for some time.

Though Bernanke may overcome a filibuster threat with 60 or more votes, his support on the final confirmation vote will probably be smaller. Several senators have said they would oppose blocking a vote on his confirmation but would vote against his reappointment.

No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post)

January 28, 2010 · Filed Under Ben Bernanke


Comments