November 21, 2013

JOHNSON SUPPORTS JANET YELLEN TO SERVE AS CHAIR OF THE FED

WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) held an Executive Session to consider the nomination of Janet Yellen to be Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Below is Chairman Johnson’s statement as prepared for delivery:

“I call the Committee to order.

“We have a quorum present, so we will move to executive session to consider the nomination of the Honorable Janet Yellen to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term of four years.

“Dr. Yellen is a model candidate for Chair of the Fed. She currently serves as the Vice Chair, she was the President of the San Francisco Fed for 6 years, and she served on the Fed Board of Governors in the 1990s.

“She has devoted a large portion of her professional and academic career to studying the labor market, unemployment, monetary policy, and the economy.

“As we saw in her testimony last week, Dr. Yellen understands the challenges facing our economy and the balance the Fed must strike as we navigate the path back to full employment.

“Dr. Yellen also showed in her testimony that she understands the importance of completing ongoing Wall Street Reform rulemaking and of the Fed’s regulatory role in supervising the riskiest banks.

“I am proud to offer my support for Dr. Yellen to serve as the first female Chair of the Federal Reserve. I urge my colleagues to support her nomination as well.”

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