Joe Biden

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Treasury Secretary Nominee Janet Yellen Deserves Swift Confirmation after Strong Senate Finance Hearing

January 19, 2021

Today in her Senate confirmation hearing, Janet Yellen demonstrated that she is the bold, experienced leader needed at the helm of the Treasury to begin building our economy back better from this crisis. Following today's hearing, the Senate must move swiftly to confirm her. Americans, reeling amid one of the toughest and most unequal economic crises in history, deserve nothing less. 

Here's what they're saying about Yellen's testimony:

Sen. Ron Wyden: Chair Yellen today demonstrated why no one is more qualified to be Treasury Secretary in the midst of this crisis. She understands the financial pain millions of working families are experiencing, and will put them first as she works to rebuild our economy. As I said at the close of our committee hearing, I'm pushing to have Chair Yellen confirmed on Thursday. As we continue to deal with the worst economic crisis in a century, it's critically important that she be leading the Treasury Department as soon as possible. [Statement, 1/19/21]

Sen. Sherrod Brown: We need to make World War II-level investments to defeat this pandemic, get Americans back to work and school safely, and grow the middle class. Treasury Secretary Nominee @JanetYellen is ready to "act big". #ConfirmYellen [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Sen. Ben Cardin: The next Secretary of Treasury will play a big role in helping our economy recover from COVID-19. I questioned @JanetYellen at today's confirmation hearing, and I'm confident she'll be a voice for minority and underserved small businesses & Americans hardest hit by this pandemic. [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Sen. Bob Menendez: 1/ After a failed pandemic response and a crumbling economy that have hurt hard-working families the most, I am ready for crucial change at the @USTreasury Department.

2/ Ready to help rebuild our economy fairly and equitably. Today we start this effort, as the Senate Committee on Finance considers the historic nomination of @JanetYellen as our next Treasury Secretary. ?TUNE IN: [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

2/ @JanetYellen has had a long history of working towards equitable economic recovery, most recently as the Chair of the @federalreserve.

3/ @JanetYellen will be ready from Day One to help the Biden-Harris Admin build back our economy equitably by prioritizing communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic. [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Sen. Mark Warner: Dr. Yellen is exactly the type of leader we need at the Treasury to see our economy through these challenging times.  Her deep understanding of our economy and financial markets will allow her to hit the ground running as we work to rebuild and recover from COVID-19. She should be swiftly confirmed. I look forward to working with Secretary Yellen to advance our shared priorities, including expanding investments into minority and underserved communities, reforming our tax code, preparing American workers to compete in a 21st century economy, and implementing key reforms to our anti-money laundering and beneficial ownership laws, among other urgent challenges facing our fragile economy. [Statement, 1/19/21]

Sen. Bob Menendez: .@JanetYellen agrees: our state and local govts need help now. We need our teachers & first responders on the job, not on the unemployment line. We need a strong leader to put our economy back on track and I look forward to confirming Dr. Yellen as our next Treasury Secretary. [Tweet, 1/19/21]

Sen Bob Cardin: The next Secretary of Treasury will play a big role in helping our economy recover from COVID-19. I questioned @JanetYellen at today's confirmation hearing, and I'm confident she'll be a voice for minority and underserved small businesses & Americans hardest hit by this pandemic. [Tweet, 1/19/21]

Sen. Sherrod Brown: We need to make World War II-level investments to defeat this pandemic, get Americans back to work and school safely, and grow the middle class. Treasury Secretary Nominee @JanetYellen is ready to "act big". #ConfirmYellen [Tweet, 1/19/21]

Sen. Michael Bennett: .@JanetYellen is an exceptionally well-qualified nominee whose leadership at @USTreasury will be essential to help pull our country out of this once-in-a-century crisis. She should be confirmed immediately. [Tweet, 1/19/21]

Sen. Bob Casey: 1/ Janet Yellen's experience and expertise will be essential to taking on the urgent economic challenges facing the Nation — and working alongside the President-elect to invest in American workers and build our economy back better than before. [Tweet, 1/19/21]

2/ In today's Senate Finance Committee hearing, Dr. Yellen and I discussed our economic recovery, the critical role of childcare and the care economy for workers, systemic wealth disparities and growing the middle class.

3/ It's as clear as ever that @JanetYellen is the right leader for this vital job and I look forward to supporting her nomination. [Tweet, 1/19/21]

Sen. Debbie Stabenow: This year has brought so much hardship to American families. It is clear from the hearing today that Dr. Yellen understands the severity of this crisis and is extremely qualified to lead our incoming President's plan to get Americans back to work. It is very important we don't have a gap in leadership at the Department of Treasury during this critical time in our country. I urge the Senate to confirm her nomination as soon as possible. [Statement, 1/19/21]

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: Rebuilding our economy out of the ashes of the COVID recession and the mismanagement of the Trump administration calls for experience and deep understanding of the economic challenges Americans face.  Janet Yellen demonstrated those qualities today. In particular, I was pleased to hear her commit to confronting the tsunami of dark-money influence drowning our political system. Treasury holds important power to require greater transparency and accountability for those seeking to influence government. I look forward to it resuming that work. Ms. Yellen offered a clear-eyed assessment of the economic risks of climate change, which threaten economic ruin if left unchecked.  She called climate risk an 'existential threat,' and she recognized that we must ready our financial system for a transition away from fossil fuels and prepare for the damage already expected due to carbon pollution. Ms. Yellen also committed to swiftly carry out the important legislation we passed to tackle shell company abuse.  Our bipartisan law empowers law enforcement to crack down on criminals, terrorists, and other corrupt forces in society that shield their ill-gotten gains and dark money schemes behind dummy corporations.  That legislation must be a top priority for Treasury. I look forward to working with Ms. Yellen in meeting the challenges ahead. [Statement, 1/19/21] 

Rep. Pramila Jayapal: @JanetYellen? is right: "the smartest thing we can do is act big." The crises that face us are enormous, and we need solutions that match the scale of these crises. @USProgressives will be with you. [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Alexis Goldstein: *Excellent* news to hear this commitment from @JanetYellen! There's so much crucial coordination that needs to happen between the financial regulators to address climate risk. Having a senior role at @USTreasury focused full time on this would help ensure it happens. [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Saleha Mohsin: Yellen: "Our focus should be Main Street, not Wall Street " [Tweet, 1/19/21]

Alan Rappeport: Yellen says "China is clearly our most important strategic competitor." She says China has been stealing intellectual property and engaging in forced technology transfers. [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Alan Rappeport: Yellen offers a defense of a $15 min wage. She cites economic literature that finds in neighboring states, where one raises the min wage and the other does not, there is minimal job losses in the state that did. "That's my reading of the research." [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Gene Sperling via Andrea Mitchell: On Janet Yellen confirmation hearing, @genebsperling: "Janet Yellen came with a lot of gravitas today. 8 former Secretaries of Treasury writing to say she was uniquely qualified. She did come with a powerful message, the risks to this economy are still significant." #AMRstaff [Tweet, 1/19/21]  

Zachary Warmbrodt: Janet Yellen says the pandemic has taken an "unbelievable toll" on low-income workers and minorities. At Treasury, she says she wants to put in place relief "at every level" for those communities. She agrees that Treasury should be more diverse [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Judy Woodruff: .@JoeBiden nominee for Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, says economics is often viewed as a dry science, but she sees it, as her father, a physician, saw his work: "as a means to help people," and cites the many needs to help Americans in the pandemic [Tweet, 1/19/21] 

Christine Romans: She's battle-tested, crisis battle-tested, an economist who ran the most central bank in the world, taking over this top job in this crisis makes her one of the most powerful women in the world. All former living Treasury secretaries have endorsed her swift confirmation. Her job today is to be the salesperson for the Biden administration's rescue of the battered American economy: $1.9 trillion to expand medical leave and sell a vaccine program, more money to state and local governments, money for schools and small businesses and $1,400 stimulus checks and $400 extra in jobless benefits through September. That's what she has to sell on the hill. It is a big haul after $4 trillion already spent, but Yellen will argue that the crisis demands it. You started with that quote, Jim: "Neither the president-elect nor I propose this package without an appreciation for the country's debt burden. But right now with interest rates at historic lows ... the smartest thing we can do is act big." Years of job market gains have been wiped away by the crisis. We're down 9.8 million jobs in the pandemic. Yellen's prepared remarks show this new tact from the administration to address income inequality within the crisis; she notes before the first person was even infected with coronavirus, guys, wealth built on wealth and working families fell further behind. She called it a K-shaped economy and now a health crisis that must be fixed before the economy can recover later this year. [CNN via TVeyes, 1/19/21]

Joseph R. Biden, Jr., WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Treasury Secretary Nominee Janet Yellen Deserves Swift Confirmation after Strong Senate Finance Hearing Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/375925

Filed Under

Categories

Simple Search of Our Archives