By Thomas Ferraro and Mark Felsenthal
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday is expected to hold a final confirming vote on Ben Bernanke's nomination for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Senate aides said.
The aides said on Wednesday that a vote on confirmation would likely come shortly after senators vote to clear a procedural roadblock to the nomination. Lawmakers could have up to 30 hours to debate the nomination, but are not expected to use all the time.
'We anticipate the confirmation vote tomorrow,' a Democratic aide said. 'We think the (confirmation) vote will be tomorrow,' a Republican aide said separately.
Bernanke is widely expected to win confirmation, but only by a relatively narrow margin.
The surprise election last week of a Republican to a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat long held by Democrats underscored voter anger about the economy's woes and undercut support for Bernanke, a chief architect of bailouts for Wall Street banks.
While the nomination appeared on track before then, the Massachusetts result sent shock waves through Washington. A number of senators facing tough reelection battles in November voiced their opposition, raising doubts about whether Bernanke could be confirmed.
A full-court press from President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats, however, appears to have mustered the 60 vote supermajority needed to overcome efforts to block the nomination.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision on Tuesday to schedule a procedural vote for Thursday to clear any roadblocks signaled a belief the votes were secured.
Even so, Bernanke, whose first four-year term ends on Sunday, is poised to garner the fewest 'yes' votes for any nominee to be Fed chairman in the 32 years the Senate has been playing a role in approving the nominations. Previously, Paul Volcker, who triggered back-to-back recession with sky-high interest rates, held that honor in 1983 with 84 'yes' votes.
A Reuters poll showed 50 Senators support Bernanke, while 21 oppose him. The rest of the 100-member chamber is publicly undecided.
FED SEEN WEAKENED
If Bernanke wins a second term, as expected, he will be leading an institution reshaped by the financial crisis and deep recession, and the shifting politics that ensued.
His unexpectedly rocky confirmation battle and the mauling Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received during a congressional hearing on Wednesday over the taxpayer-funded bailout of insurer American International Group Inc in 2008 vividly illustrated the depth of outrage over the recession and expensive bank bailouts.
'The politically neutral and independent Fed has really been politicized this week, probably to its detriment,' said Chris Krueger of Concept Capital, a private firm that tracks Washington for institutional investors.
The hunger for a scapegoat could translate into congressional action to strip the Fed of direct supervisory power over banks or its responsibility for consumer protections, as proposed by some lawmakers.
Congress is also likely to mandate much more extensive supervision of the Fed's activities, including emergency lending, and possibly even monetary policy decisions.
In considering Bernanke's nomination, some lawmakers pressed him to do more for the economy, highlighting the unusually high degree of political pressure now on the Fed.
'I made it clear that to merit confirmation, Chairman Bernanke must redouble his efforts to ensure families can access the credit they need to buy or keep their home, send their children to college or start a small business,' Reid said on Friday. 'He has assured me he will soon outline plans for making that happen, and I eagerly await them.'
The Fed guards its independence jealously and is more likely to respond to the political mood by pushing forward on consumer-friendly regulatory initiatives than by steering monetary policy in a direction palatable to lawmakers.
((For more stories on Fed policy, please double click on ))
(Editing by Phil Berlowitz; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Keywords: BERNANKE/ (tim.ahmann@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8370; Reuters Messaging: tim.ahmann.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday is expected to hold a final confirming vote on Ben Bernanke's nomination for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Senate aides said.
The aides said on Wednesday that a vote on confirmation would likely come shortly after senators vote to clear a procedural roadblock to the nomination. Lawmakers could have up to 30 hours to debate the nomination, but are not expected to use all the time.
'We anticipate the confirmation vote tomorrow,' a Democratic aide said. 'We think the (confirmation) vote will be tomorrow,' a Republican aide said separately.
Bernanke is widely expected to win confirmation, but only by a relatively narrow margin.
The surprise election last week of a Republican to a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat long held by Democrats underscored voter anger about the economy's woes and undercut support for Bernanke, a chief architect of bailouts for Wall Street banks.
While the nomination appeared on track before then, the Massachusetts result sent shock waves through Washington. A number of senators facing tough reelection battles in November voiced their opposition, raising doubts about whether Bernanke could be confirmed.
A full-court press from President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats, however, appears to have mustered the 60 vote supermajority needed to overcome efforts to block the nomination.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision on Tuesday to schedule a procedural vote for Thursday to clear any roadblocks signaled a belief the votes were secured.
Even so, Bernanke, whose first four-year term ends on Sunday, is poised to garner the fewest 'yes' votes for any nominee to be Fed chairman in the 32 years the Senate has been playing a role in approving the nominations. Previously, Paul Volcker, who triggered back-to-back recession with sky-high interest rates, held that honor in 1983 with 84 'yes' votes.
A Reuters poll showed 50 Senators support Bernanke, while 21 oppose him. The rest of the 100-member chamber is publicly undecided.
FED SEEN WEAKENED
If Bernanke wins a second term, as expected, he will be leading an institution reshaped by the financial crisis and deep recession, and the shifting politics that ensued.
His unexpectedly rocky confirmation battle and the mauling Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received during a congressional hearing on Wednesday over the taxpayer-funded bailout of insurer American International Group Inc in 2008 vividly illustrated the depth of outrage over the recession and expensive bank bailouts.
'The politically neutral and independent Fed has really been politicized this week, probably to its detriment,' said Chris Krueger of Concept Capital, a private firm that tracks Washington for institutional investors.
The hunger for a scapegoat could translate into congressional action to strip the Fed of direct supervisory power over banks or its responsibility for consumer protections, as proposed by some lawmakers.
Congress is also likely to mandate much more extensive supervision of the Fed's activities, including emergency lending, and possibly even monetary policy decisions.
In considering Bernanke's nomination, some lawmakers pressed him to do more for the economy, highlighting the unusually high degree of political pressure now on the Fed.
'I made it clear that to merit confirmation, Chairman Bernanke must redouble his efforts to ensure families can access the credit they need to buy or keep their home, send their children to college or start a small business,' Reid said on Friday. 'He has assured me he will soon outline plans for making that happen, and I eagerly await them.'
The Fed guards its independence jealously and is more likely to respond to the political mood by pushing forward on consumer-friendly regulatory initiatives than by steering monetary policy in a direction palatable to lawmakers.
((For more stories on Fed policy, please double click on ))
(Editing by Phil Berlowitz; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Keywords: BERNANKE/ (tim.ahmann@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8370; Reuters Messaging: tim.ahmann.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.