Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to explain why I will not support the nomination of Ben Bernanke for another term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. But I also want to make it clear that I do not support a filibuster, because I believe he deserves to have a vote on his nomination. I have not met anyone who doubts that Chairman Bernanke is very bright, he is very dedicated, he is very conscientious, he is an expert on the depression era. I am grateful for the work he did in those critical weeks when the American system teetered on the verge of collapse; that is, our economic system. But I do think this is a moment to take stock, in many ways as President Obama did in his State of the Union Address: How did we get to this very difficult economic place? I think as we look at that, people have to be held accountable for their actions along the way. That means Chairman Bernanke must be held accountable for his record. I asked my staff, could you get me the Charter of the Federal Reserve, because I know it has many objectives that it needs to fulfill. Here are the four main objectives to the Federal Reserve: One, conducting the Nation's monetary policy in pursuit of maximum employment and stable prices. Two, regulating the banking system to ensure the safety of the Nation's financial system, and protecting the credit rights of consumers. Three, maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that might arise in the financial markets.…”