Reid wants more answers from Bernanke ahead of Senate confirmation vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday he
wants more information from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on how to
pressure banks into helping the economy.

Bernanke’s current term is up on Jan. 31, and Reid has yet
to schedule a vote or invoke cloture on a nomination that has drawn strong
criticism from some Republicans and Democrats.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), Jim DeMint
(R-S.C.) and David Vitter (R-La.) have holds on Bernanke’s nomination. Most
analysts predict Bernanke has enough votes for confirmation, but they expect
the vote to be one of the most contentious ever for a Fed chairman.

{mosads}Reid on Thursday said that he has broad concerns and wants
to hear more from Bernanke on how to strengthen the economy, improve efforts to
reduce home foreclosures and spur bank lending to small businesses.

“These are not only my concerns, but the concerns of
Nevadans struggling to support their families,” Reid said in a statement
following a meeting with Bernanke.

“As the Senate prepares to take up Chairman Bernanke’s
nomination, I look forward to hearing more from him about how he intends to
address these issues,” said Reid, who faces a tough re-election in November.

Lawmakers have requested new information from the Federal
Reserve about its efforts to support American International Group (AIG), which
has become one of the most contentious aspects of the government’s bailout of
the financial industry.

Bernanke said this week that he welcomed an investigation
from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

“The Senate should not rush ahead with the Bernanke
nomination until the ongoing examinations by Congress and the GAO of the Fed’s
AIG bailout are complete,” Bunning, DeMint and Vitter said in a statement. “Senators
should not be put in a position to vote before they know the full story behind
Chairman Bernanke’s role in the bailout, what the Fed knew and when, and how
severe the losses for the taxpayers will be.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Jan. 27 is slated to
testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the
AIG bailout.