(Emphases, links and notes in square brackets are added to the below reports.)
December 4, (LPAC)—Reflecting growing opposition to the Wall Street bailout policy of the Obama administration and the surge of opposition to the Federal Reserve and its monetarist policies, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I) said on Tuesday that he was placing a hold on Bernanke's nomination for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. If the hold is not withdrawn, Senate leaders will not be able to bring up the nomination for a vote by unanimous consent. Instead, they may need to garner 60 votes in order to consider the nomination.
In justifying his move, Sanders said:
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. 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."
"Mr. Bernanke has failed at all four core responsibilities of the Federal Reserve," Sanders concluded. "It's time for him to go."
[full press release snipped out of this space for brevity]
Republican Senator Bunning Joins Sanders in Call for Hold on Bernanke
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), who is retiring in 2010, announced that he would try to block the nomination of Ben Bernanke to a second term at the Federal Reserve.
In a prepared statement during the Senate Banking Committee hearings, Bunning said to Bernanke, "You are the definition of a moral hazard." Bunning, who is the only Senator to have voted against Bernanke in 2006, stated: "I opposed you because I knew you would continue the legacy of Alan Greenspan, and I was right."
Excerpts from his statement follow:
* "It took you two years to finally regulate subprime mortgages after Chairman Greenspan did nothing for 12 years.
* Alan Greenspan refused to look for bubbles or try to do anything other than create them. Likewise, ... you failed to spot the housing bubble despite many warnings.
* Instead of close supervision of the biggest and most dangerous banks, Greenspan ignored the growing balance sheets and increasing risk. You did no better. In fact, under your watch everyone of the major banks failed or would have failed if you did not bail them out. [They should have been put under bankruptcy reorganization and Glass Steagall applied.]
* The Greenspan policy on transparency was talk a lot, use plenty of numbers, but say nothing. ... You still refuse to provide details on the Fed's bailouts last year and on all the toxic waste you bought.
* Under your watch, the Bernanke Put became a bailout of all large financial institutions, including many foreign banks.
* You have created zombie banks that are only enriching their traders and executives.
* Even if all that were not true, the AIG bailout alone is reason enough to send you back to Princeton.
* Your time as Fed Chairman has been a failure. You stated time and again during the housing bubble that there was no bubble. After the bubble burst, you repeatedly claimed the fallout would be small. And you clearly did not spot the systemic risks that you claim the Fed was supposed to be looking out for. Where I come from we punish failure, not reward it. Judging by the current Treasury Secretary, some may think Washington does reward failure, but that should not be the case. I will do everything I can to stop your nomination and drag out the process as long as possible. We must put an end to your and the Fed's failures, and there is no better time than now.
In this video, Sen. Jim Bunning tells Mike Stark of Stark Reports that he will indeed place a hold on the nomination of Ben Bernanke to a second term for the Federal Reserve, as expected after his blasting of Bernanke above. The transcript of that interview:
MIKE STARK: Will you be placing a hold on the .. ah… (they are walking in a hallway)
BUNNING: I think that's pretty obvious.
STARK: ...that you will be
BUNNING: ...that I will be.
STARK: Do you know if any other Senators aside from Bernie Sanders will be joining you?
BUNNING: It's been discussed. There will be more than one hold than mine.
STARK: I know you make two. Right. Any others from the Republican side?
BUNNING: There are others that are going to hold.
According to Rep. Ron Paul, who was interviewed on Fox News, Jim DeMint has also put a hold on Bernanke's nomination.
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from
LPAC Breaking News (center column, lower page)
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