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The Senate voted 84-15 to confirm Janet Yellen as Secretary of the Treasury on Monday.
Why is this important: Yellen is the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Treasury, a Cabinet post that will be crucial in helping pull the country out of the pandemic-induced economic crisis.
- Yellen was previously the first female Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton and the first female Chair of the Federal Reserve under President Obama.
- Her confirmation as Secretary of the Treasury made her the first person to hold the three positions of economic power in the federal government.
The big picture: Yellen told senators during his confirmation hearings that his immediate goal would be relief from the pandemic. With her confirmation, she can immediately begin negotiating and working with Congress to pass President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief proposal.
- “The damage has been extensive, and as the President-elect said last Thursday, so must our response,” Yellen said last week.
- Yellen also endorsed Biden’s tax reform plan in her testimony, but said the administration’s top legislative priority would be economic recovery, with infrastructure not too far behind.
Key quotes from Yellen’s testimony:
- “Right now, the focus is on providing relief and helping families keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, not raising taxes.
- “Neither the president-elect nor I offer this relief package without an appreciation of the country’s debt burden. But right now, with interest rates at historically low levels, the smartest thing we can do is act big. “
- “Over the next few months, we’ll need more help to distribute the vaccine, to reopen schools, to help states keep firefighters and teachers working.”
- “Avoiding doing what we need to do now to deal with the pandemic and the economic damage it is causing would likely leave us in an economic situation and in regards to our debt situation worse than doing what is necessary. “
Go further: Janet Yellen Minimizes Debt, Rising Tax Concerns At Confirmation Hearing
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