Rand Paul opposes re-appointment of Bernanke
For Immediate Release
December 3, 2009
“Today, the United States Senate will begin considering the renomination of Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman. If I were there to cast a vote, I would vote no, would vigorously oppose Bernanke’s confirmation, and would have a few questions for the Fed Chairman as the Senate considered him.
I agree with Senator Jim Bunning, who was the only U.S. Senator with the foresight and courage to oppose Ben Bernanke at his first confirmation four years ago. Just recently Senator Bunning said:
‘His job rating would be zero minus F,’ Bunning said in an interview yesterday. ‘He has catered to the big banks, to the Wall Street elitists, to every major money concern in the country and in the world.’
Senator Bunning has always stood up for real Americans – taxpayers, workers, ordinary citizens – over the Wall Street elite and special interests.
While I’m sure our senators will have many good questions for Chairman Bernanke during his nomination hearings and floor debate, I have a few of my own today:
1. Did Goldman Sachs receive preferential treatment in buying their credit default swaps?
2. Who received the trillions of dollars in loan guarantees from the Fed over the past year? Why?
3. Why does the Fed Chairman believe he can refuse to answer the U.S. Congress when asked to account for these trillions of dollars?
4. Which foreign banks and governments have been the recipient of special treatment from the Fed and why?
These are just a few of the questions that are an absolute minimum for the Fed Chairman to address before anyone should even consider giving him a second term.
The fact is, the Federal Reserve was asleep at the wheel for the housing and subprime mortgage crises. In fact, by keeping interest rates below the market rate, the Fed fueled the housing bubble. Now the Fed has hired a million dollar lobbyist to stonewall Congress and deflect attempts to create transparency.
Chairman Bernanke must be held responsible for these and other failures and excesses of the Federal Reserve.
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