[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Michelle Bowman

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the nomination of 
Governor Michelle Bowman to be a member of the Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve System and the nomination of Thomas Peter Feddo as 
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security in the 
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
  First, I will speak about Governor Bowman. Michelle Bowman currently 
serves as a Governor on the Federal Reserve Board and was the first 
person to fill the Federal Reserve's community banking seat, after her 
confirmation last year by a bipartisan vote of 64 to 34. Her current 
term expires on January 30, 2020, and President Trump has renominated 
her to the same position for a full 14-year term.
  Prior to serving as Governor, she was the State bank commissioner of 
Kansas from January 2017 to November 2018. She also served as vice 
president of a Kansas-based community bank, Farmers & Drovers Bank, 
between 2010 and 2017 and served in a number of government roles.
  Confirming Governor Bowman to a new 14-year term will provide the 
needed stability on the Board.
  During her current term as Governor, she has played a crucial role at 
the Federal Reserve by providing the community banking perspective and 
highlighting their importance to people, households, and small 
businesses across this Nation, as well as the U.S. economy broadly. She 
has also contributed meaningfully toward appropriately tailoring 
regulations in accordance with S. 2155.
  If confirmed, I am confident her experience and skill will continue 
to benefit the Board in promoting the effective operation of the U.S. 
economy and serving the public interest. I will be voting in support of 
Governor Bowman and urge my colleagues to vote in support of her 
nomination, as well, today.
  Turning for a moment to another important issue regarding the Federal 
Reserve, I want to reinforce that maintaining the independence of the 
Federal Reserve is of the utmost importance in this country.
  The recent remarks made by former New York Fed President Dudley 
urging the Federal Reserve to sway an election by using monetary policy 
are incredibly troubling. The job of the Federal Reserve is to provide 
this Nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and 
financial system. I continue to encourage the Federal Reserve to 
conduct its monetary policy while remaining independent of politics.