On, January 28, 2010, I voted to confirm Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The full Senate approved Chairman Bernanke’s nomination by a vote of 70-30.
While I do have concerns regarding Chairman Bernanke, I have greater reservations about changing leadership at the Federal Reserve during the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. If Chairman Bernanke was not confirmed, Vice Chairman Donald Kohn would have assumed leadership of the Federal Reserve temporarily while President Obama started the confirmation process over with a new nominee. This would have brought more uncertainty at a time we can least afford it. While some may disagree with some of Chairman Bernanke’s decisions, the fact is that during the most difficult economic crisis our country has ever faced, his policies helped avert a collapse and set us on the road to recovery.
If Chairman Bernanke had not been confirmed, there was speculation that President Obama would have looked within his administration to fill the job. The two names mentioned most were Larry Summers, director of President Obama’s National Economic Council, and Christina Romer, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. I believe Chairman Bernanke is a better choice than either of these individuals.
I believe there should be more transparency at the Federal Reserve, and that’s why I was the fourth senator to co-sponsor legislation to require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive and independent audit of the Federal Reserve.
S.604, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act, would mandate an audit of the Federal Reserve by the Comptroller General of the United States to be reported to the leadership of Congress, along with the leadership of committees of jurisdiction. The audit would be completed by the end of 2010. It was the intent of Congress in 1913 to create the Federal Reserve as an independent non-partisan organization, and the Federal Reserve has been exempt of audit ever since. However, the time has come where there is a need for more accountability across the board.
I’m pleased Chairman Bernanke also has heard the message that the American people want more transparency. On January 19, 2010, he asked federal auditors to review the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s role in the much-criticized rescue of the American International Group in 2008. I believe this is a step in the right direction.
Visit http://re-elect-johnny-isakson-ga19.blogspot.com/
