Politics

Sanders Would Filibuster Bernanke

By Sunlight Foundation & Participatory Politics Foundation

Sen. Bernard Sanders [I, VT] has placed a “hold” on the confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

?The American people want a new direction on Wall Street and at the Fed. They do not want as chairman someone who has been part of the problem and who has been responsible for many of the enormous difficulties that we are now experiencing,? Sanders said in a press release posted on his website. ?It?s time for a change at the Fed.?

In the Senate, a “hold” is essentially a warning that a senator intends to filibuster a motion and that it will take 60 votes to move forward with the motion. If Sanders can get support for his filibuster from some more senators, he could hold up the confirmation for days. If he can get 40 senators to vote with him on maintaining the filibuster, he can block Bernanke’s confirmation. Right now, that seems unlikely, but as Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism explains, the movement against Bernanke is suddenly gaining momentum.

Bernanke is scheduled to appear before the Banking Committee for a hearing on his nomination tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET. You’ll be able to stream it live online here. Should be interesting — Bloomberg has a preview.

Full post as published by Open Congress on December 04, 2009 (boomark / email).