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Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent Socialist of Vermont, announced today that he has put an official "hold" on the re-nomination of Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Benjamin Bernanke.
Sen. Bernie Sanders Wednesday placed a hold on the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. "The American people overwhelmingly voted last year for a change in our national priorities to put the interests of ordinary people ahead of the greed of Wall Street and the wealthy few," Sanders said. "What the American people did not bargain for was another four years for one of the key architects of the Bush economy."
As head of the central bank since 2006, Bernanke could have demanded that Wall Street provide adequate credit to small and medium-sized businesses to create decent-paying jobs in a productive economy, but he did not. He could have insisted that large bailed-out banks end the usurious practice of charging interest rates of 30 percent or more on credit cards, but he did not. He could have broken up too-big-to-fail financial institutions that took Federal Reserve assistance, but he did not. He could have revealed which banks took more than $2 trillion in taxpayer-backed secret loans, but he did not.
More detail from the official press release, which can be read in full here:
The Federal Reserve has four main responsibilities: to conduct monetary policy in a way that leads to maximum employment and stable prices; to maintain the safety and soundness of financial institutions; to contain systemic risk in financial markets; and to protect consumers against deceptive and unfair financial products.
Since Bernanke took over as Fed chairman in 2006, unemployment has more than doubled and, today, 17.5 percent of the American workforce is either unemployed or underemployed.
Not since the Great Depression has the financial system been as unsafe, unsound, and unstable as it has been during Mr. Bernanke’s tenure. More than 120 banks have failed since he became chairman.
Under Bernanke’s watch, the value of risky derivatives held at our nation’s top commercial banks grew from $110 trillion to more than $290 trillion, 95 percent of which are concentrated in just five financial institutions.
Bernanke failed to prevent banks from issuing deceptive and unfair financial products to consumers. Under his leadership, mortgage lenders were allowed to issue predatory loans they knew consumers could not afford to repay. This risky practice was allowed to continue long after the FBI warned in 2004 of an "epidemic" in mortgage fraud.
After the financial crisis hit, Bernanke’s response was to provide trillions of dollars in virtually zero-interest loans and other taxpayer assistance to some of the largest financial institutions in the world. Adding insult to injury, Bernanke refused to tell the American people the names of the institutions that received this handout or the terms involved.
"Mr. Bernanke has failed at all four core responsibilities of the Federal Reserve," Sanders concluded. "It’s time for him to go."
29 Comments
I wonder if Harry Reid honors official ‘holds’ from Independent Socialists the way he honors those from Democrats (Dodd; not) or GOPs (Coburn; all).
we’ll see.
You sound like me. *g*
Since Sanders caucuses with the Dems, I’ll go with “not” for $500, Alex.
“We’ll see,” indeed.
But, meanwhile: Bernie: You’re walking the talk! At last. THANK YOU.
And PLEASE keep it up, and step it up, by contesting the Afghanistan Surge.
I think the “hold” may be on the banking committee confirmation.
And in that case, it’s Chris Dodd.
Checking….
Harry honors holds in this order:
Republican holds
Joe Lieberman holds
Democratic holds
Socialist holds
Of course he only allows 1.3 Dem/Socialist combined holds per congress (or is that only the unwritten rule?)
Mulcusky (sp) amendment up for a vote at 11:45am tomorrow.
Yes, though I didn’t hear the whole thing, both the Mikulski and Murkowski amendments are getting an up-or-down vote tomorrow, by Unanimous Consent Agreement (they’re both preventive screening/mammography-related amendments), as propounded this evening by Dick Durbin (and resisted, but then graciously ceded to in the end, by David Vitter, in hopes his second-degree amendment to Mikulski’s will be considered as well).
That UC Agreement followed shortly after Bernie Sanders (passionately) and Dick Durbin (calmly) held an effective back-and-forth on the floor about the bill, and in particular about the bogus Republican complaints about “government-run” health care, which Sanders did a very good job of exposing as the misleading and uncalled-for complaint it is. Durbin rightly challenged Republicans complaining about such health care to come to the floor and offer amendments to repeal Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, or even their own federal health insurance coverage.
Yeah, I caught the whole thing. Came back into the room just as Durbin took the floor. We need many more like Bernie.
Here’s the full UCAgreement agreed to last evening.
That UCA is in fact an ominous development if you believe in full and fair debate and letting the Senate (Democratic majority) work its will, because it requires, in the absence of either actual filibusters or cloture motions, 60-vote majority margins for all 4 measures to be voted on today.
The Democrats are apparently afraid to allow simple-majority margins on Republican (and Democratic) floor amendments – or, in the alternative (we don’t know which it is because it’s all been negotiated in secret and then misleadingly used to try to gain partisan advantage), the Democrats won’t force Republicans to actually conduct their threatened filibusters of Democratic amendments by publicly calling them out and shutting down Senate activity until their bluff is called.
I think it’s safe to say, that if this is a sign of things to come, we can all tune out now and miss nothing of import in the amendment “debate” as the Two Parties proceed to play The Blame Game to essentially zero substantive effect for the next some-odd weeks.
Bernie at least trys.
The news of this hold is the best news to emerge from the Congress in a very long time. Someone, somewhere, has to force a debate on the opaque and probably corrupt Federal Reserve.
If only a hold could be placed on the continued animate operation of Timothy Geithner …
Brilliant, I thought of it a couple of days ago. I oppose Ben but that isn’t the reason I wanted a hold and knew Saunders was the only Senator who would do it. I believe a full up or down vote on Bernanke is the correct thing. As it is with every single nominee. If Saunders sticks with this I have this vague hope that the entire hold porceedure could go right out the window.
Every single money man in the world will insist this threatens to destroy the world. Something no politician can face. No ordinary one.
How true. Too bad Barack Obama didn’t seem to get the message.
Will it reach the point where Sanders and others have to seriously consider putting a hold on his reelection too? I hope not. It’s still not too late for Obama to cancel his subscription to Golf Digest.
But how confident can one really be given the past 10 months?
Helicopter Ben Grounded! Good. Hope this hold lasts.
be sure and catch Rachel’s interview with Amb Susan Rice… Rachel Rocks!
I hereby nominate Bernie for the honorary title of “Colonel.”
“What’s the matter Colonel Sanders?.. Chicken???” -SpaceBalls!
Good symbology. I wonder if it will amount to anything.
What’s Feingolds position on this?
‘You gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em’….”The Gambler”
A real leader, and a human. Almost unique in our senate.
that is terrific stuff from bernie, let’s try to make sure what he said has legs
let’s also hope obama takes it as his wakeup call, a slap in the face that tells him
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FRIGGING MIND?
man 0 man did nobody EVER think he would perpetuate the bush economy
I remember saying before obama got elected, we might be better off with a republican who we can say no to rather then a democrat we can’t
let’s hope the rest of the democrats say loud and clear to obama
STOP BEING A REPUBLICAN and get on with THE PEOPLE’S business rather then corporate’s business
Way to go, Bernie! I commend you. And the check will be in the mail again next election time, even if I haven’t figured out how to move to Vermont by then.
Hopefully, Bernie will also put a hold on Chris Dodd and Barney Franks, the two Banking Committee Chairmen who sat around for 18 months before the crisis and never warned anybody or did anything concrete about it.
Thank you Bernie! One of only a few in Congress that aren’t bought and paid for by the plutocracy.
Bernie is my hero! He gives me hope that there may be a chance to fix this country. There is a campaign on Act Blue to sign a petition and donate to his campaign. If you watch the clip posted on Daily Kos that leads there, of him interrogating Bernanke, you will want to change your will and make him an heir!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/3/810279/-Get-Bernie-Sanders-Back
Someone is listening to the peasants at the gate with their pitchforks. More than likely will not last