[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 81 (Thursday, May 12, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2476-S2477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    U.S. Federal Reserve Nominations

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, since President Biden took office, we have 
made tremendous economic progress as a country. Our economic growth 
last year exceeded that of China's for the first time in 20 years, and 
Federal Reserve nominees who have come before the Senate are crucial to 
continuing that progress. As Americans face rising prices caused by 
corporate greed, a global pandemic, and Putin's war, having a full 
Federal Reserve Board has never been more vital.
  A few weeks ago, the Senate confirmed Lael Brainard to be Vice Chair 
of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Vice Chair 
Brainard has served as a member of the Federal Reserve since 2014, when 
she led bipartisan action to support families through the COVID-19 
economic crisis and worked to create a better payments system that 
works for consumers and small banks. She has championed efforts to 
modernize and strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act, a landmark 
civil rights law to start to undo the dark legacy brought on by Jim 
Crow and, ultimately, redlining. We saw her tremendous efforts pay off. 
Last week, all three Federal banking Agencies moved forward with their 
new, historic CRA proposal.
  Earlier this week, Democrats supported the historic nomination of Dr. 
Lisa Cook, who is a prominent economist with years of research and 
international experience on monetary policy, banking, and financial 
crises. She is the first Black woman to serve on the Board of Governors 
in the 109-year history of the Federal Reserve. She has seen how 
economic policy affects all kinds of people in different parts of the 
country, from the rural South where she grew up in Milledgeville, GA, 
to the industrial Midwest at Michigan State University--one of the 
great Midwestern State universities of this country--where she built 
her career.
  Dr. Cook is a Spelman College alumna. She was a Marshall Scholar and 
a Truman Scholar. She studied at Oxford University. She earned her 
Ph.D. in economics at Berkeley. She is a tenured professor of economics 
and international relations at Michigan State.
  Last night, the Senate confirmed Dr. Philip Jefferson, one of the 
country's leading thinkers on the economics of poverty. He will be a 
critical voice on the Fed. He is the vice president for academic 
affairs, dean of faculty, and Freeland professor of economics at 
Davidson College. He began his career as a Fed economist. He grew up, 
as he

[[Page S2477]]

says, in the shadow of RFK Stadium in the Southeast part of this city. 
He served as chair of the economics department at Swarthmore College, 
my daughter Emily's alma mater. Dr. Jefferson would be only the fourth 
Black man to serve as a Fed Governor.
  Both Dr. Jefferson and Dr. Cook will bring important perspectives on 
poverty, inequality, and racial equity to the Fed--perspectives that 
have been missing for most of the last 109 years.
  Today, we will vote on Jerome Powell, who has earned the 
opportunity--earned the opportunity--to lead the Fed as Chair for 
another term. He has been a steadfast defender of the Federal Reserve's 
independence, resisting unprecedented attacks by former President Trump 
to politicize the Fed. I know he will similarly resist those in 
Congress who see inflation not as a burden on American families but as 
a chance to blame the President of the United States for something that 
is complex due chiefly to things that happened before he was President 
and mainly to corporate greed and global events. Along with now-Vice 
Chair Brainard, he played an instrumental role in stabilizing our 
economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. He has been a reliable 
voice and a steady hand through this crisis.
  All of the nominees for the Fed have received an unprecedented amount 
of support from across the political spectrum--more letters of 
endorsement than I have ever seen for Federal Reserve nominees--from 
State regulators, economists, bankers, and former government officials, 
consumer groups, civil rights advocates, and on and on and on.
  I congratulate Vice Chair Brainard and Governor Cook and Governor 
Jefferson on their nominations and confirmations. I urge my colleagues 
to vote to confirm Chair Powell.
  Last point. I will continue to work with my colleagues to round out 
the full complement of the Federal Reserve--it has not had a full seven 
members in almost a decade--when we confirm in a few weeks the Vice 
Chair of Supervision nominee, Michael Barr. The Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Mr. Barr's nomination 
next week. We will move swiftly to vote.
  I urge my colleagues to support Chair Powell today and to support Mr. 
Barr's nomination as Vice Chair soon.
  I am confident all of the President's nominees will fiercely guard 
the Fed's independence and will work to bring down prices and, most 
importantly, put workers and families at the center of our economic 
policy.
  I yield the floor.