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WASHINGTON: The United States Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Janet Yellen as the first female Treasury Secretary on Friday, indicating she will easily get full Senate approval, but Republicans have asked her to work with them. in the development of economic policies.
Yellen’s nomination passed 26-0 in the evenly split committee, with concerns voiced by Republicans about President Joe Biden’s ambitious plans for massive coronavirus relief spending, infrastructure investment and tax increases that they do not sway them against the former chairman of the Federal Reserve.
“I have strong disagreements with Dr. Yellen on several of her positions, particularly in the field of fiscal policy, but she is committed to working with us,” Republican Senator Mike Crapo said after the vote.
“And I think the strong vote on our side to support her today is an indication that we want to commit.”
Biden has proposed a $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan and has pledged to invest https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-biden/biden-climate-plan-would -spend-2-trillion-in-offer-to-boost-the-economy-idUSKCN24F20 $ 2 trillion in infrastructure, green energy projects, education and research to boost US competitiveness.
At Yellen’s confirmation hearing before the committee on Tuesday, Republicans raised concerns about the price tag and rising debt in a return to fiscal conservatism after running up deficits with the 2017 tax cuts and nearly $ 5 trillion. in coronavirus spending last year under former Republican President Donald Triumph.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who will take over as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in the coming days, said he is pushing for a full confirmation vote later Friday. But Senate leaders from both parties, still arguing over how to organize the evenly divided chamber, have not indicated a time for a vote on the Yellen floor.
“I can tell you that a lot of times I don’t think you can get a 26-to-nothing vote to agree to buy a soda. So this is an indication that she really is an NBA All-Star when it comes to Senate confirmation. “Wyden said.
A full confirmation vote a few days after Biden took office would put the 74-year-old Ph.D. economist and daughter of a Brooklyn, New York family physician to work swiftly through a deep economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. . She broke a similar gender barrier when she became Fed chair in 2014, a position she held until 2018.
Yellen’s Republican predecessor, Steven Mnuchin, was not confirmed until three weeks after Trump’s 2017 inauguration, and then by a 53-47 vote in a Republican-controlled Senate.
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Yellen’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday highlighted the concerns of some Republican lawmakers about his role in executing Biden’s economic policies, including a higher federal debt burden and the repeal of parts of his exclusive 2017 tax cuts.
Yellen told senators they must “go big” on the proposed $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package or risk a longer recession and long-term economic, job and income losses.
His comments represent a new attitude toward public debt among some economists and lawmakers: to focus on the interest rate paid and the returns it will generate, rather than the total amount borrowed. In recent months, Treasury interest outlays have fallen from pre-pandemic levels due to lower rates.
In written responses to questions from senators, Yellen said she would study raising tax rates for small “pass-through” businesses, including sole proprietorships, imposing a new minimum corporate tax and raising taxes on capital gains on the wealthy. . It also supported an effective carbon pricing system and financial regulation to combat the systemic risks of climate change.
With Yellen still awaiting confirmation, the Biden administration on Wednesday named Andy Baukol, a longtime international finance official, as acting Treasury secretary. A confirmation hearing for undersecretary of the Treasury nominee Wally Adeyemo has not yet been scheduled.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper; Edited by Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell, and Andrea Ricci)
