[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S147-S148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONFIRMATION OF JANET LOUISE YELLEN

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I voted against the confirmation of Janet 
Yellen to be Treasury Secretary. Dr. Yellen is well known as an 
academic, as an economic policy adviser to President Clinton, and as 
Chair of the Federal Reserve. In all of these positions, she has proven 
herself to be wrong on fiscal, monetary, and economic policy.
  At her confirmation hearing, she vigorously supported the additional 
$2 trillion stimulus package President Biden has put forward. Her 
argument is that this time is different--but since the great recession, 
big spenders have not receded from that argument, even during the times 
of unprecedented spending growth in the Trump administration. Moreover, 
we know what the problem is in our economy today: government-mandated 
business closures. The economy contracted by nearly one-third in the 
second quarter of 2020 when lockdowns were in full force, but in the 
third quarter, the summer, when restrictions were relaxed, the economy 
made nearly a full recovery. This clearly indicates that our economy is 
not in need of stimulus; it needs fewer tin pot dictators in Governors' 
mansions.
  Much more troubling than Dr. Yellen's call for more spending is her 
dismissal of the harms of continued borrowing. She has said that 
borrowing and spending is not a problem because interest rates are low. 
And the key part of her argument is that stimulus will generate more 
growth than interest will cost to borrow. That is the definition of 
``modern monetary theory.'' She did not use that phrase because it is 
so obviously wrong-headed. Modern monetary theory is self-conflicted 
because proponents of it, like Dr. Yellen, say we can borrow in good 
time, but they never say we need to be austere in bad times. In fact, 
bad times are when they call for even more borrowing and spending.
  Modern monetary theory is nothing more than window dressing on a 
deep-seeded desire to always spend more, no matter what, and its 
proponents hope to reap electoral benefits now and to leave office 
before the bill comes due. Well, the bill is coming due. The 
Congressional Budget Office already estimates that interest on our 
current debt will begin growing at nearly 22 percent annually in just 6 
years. What does that mean? Higher taxes or Venezuela-style inflation--
Probably both. I simply cannot support a candidate who seeks to inflict 
such pain on the American people in just a few short years for an 
entirely unneeded stimulus today. We know what works--opening the 
economy. We know what does not work--modern monetary theory.

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