bobbyw24
11-13-2010, 11:44 AM
By Ian Swanson - 11/12/10 06:00 AM ET
The Federal Reserve’s decision to pump $600 billion into the economy has further politicized the central bank and brought it into conflict with resurgent House Republicans.
The attacks and counter-attacks have further complicated life for Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman who narrowly won a second term earlier this year after a tough Senate debate.
Bernanke was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, but he appears to have few friends in a House Republican conference that views him with suspicion.
Republicans were upset by Bernanke’s support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and unnerved by the unprecedented steps taken by the bank during the financial crisis.
“The relationship has deteriorated slowly and over time,” said Brian Gardner, a former House Republican aide who is now an analyst focusing on financial services for Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
Fed critics with new powers are expected to test Bernanke’s mettle in coming months.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), a longtime Fed critic who has called for auditing the central bank’s books, is in line to take over the Financial Services subcommittee on domestic monetary policy and technology, which has jurisdiction over the Fed.
“I will approach that committee like no one has ever approached it because we’re living in times like no one has ever seen,” Paul vowed in a recent interview with CNBC.
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/banking-financial-institutions/128869-bernanke-gop-relationship-deteriorates-further-over-fed-decisions
The Federal Reserve’s decision to pump $600 billion into the economy has further politicized the central bank and brought it into conflict with resurgent House Republicans.
The attacks and counter-attacks have further complicated life for Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman who narrowly won a second term earlier this year after a tough Senate debate.
Bernanke was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, but he appears to have few friends in a House Republican conference that views him with suspicion.
Republicans were upset by Bernanke’s support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and unnerved by the unprecedented steps taken by the bank during the financial crisis.
“The relationship has deteriorated slowly and over time,” said Brian Gardner, a former House Republican aide who is now an analyst focusing on financial services for Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
Fed critics with new powers are expected to test Bernanke’s mettle in coming months.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), a longtime Fed critic who has called for auditing the central bank’s books, is in line to take over the Financial Services subcommittee on domestic monetary policy and technology, which has jurisdiction over the Fed.
“I will approach that committee like no one has ever approached it because we’re living in times like no one has ever seen,” Paul vowed in a recent interview with CNBC.
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/banking-financial-institutions/128869-bernanke-gop-relationship-deteriorates-further-over-fed-decisions