Grassley Comment on Bernanke Nomination as Fed Chairman

Grassley Comment on Bernanke Nomination as Fed Chairman

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, issued the following comment regarding the nomination today by President Bush of Ben Bernanke to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

"The experts vary on how much credit to give Alan Greenspan, but regardless, the economy has been very successful under his leadership. We've had two recessions under his tenure, but both were largely because of external events. One was a spike in oil prices following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the other was a downturn after 9/11. I hope Dr. Bernanke will lead as successfully as Alan Greenspan. Chairman Greenspan's success was that people had confidence in him. He was kind
of a Rock of Gibraltar for the American economy. Now, the most important thing for Ben Bernanke to do is to build on that confidence and that credibility. For example, he advocates openness at the Fed, as has Chairman Greenspan, and that builds confidence in our economic stewardship."

http://finance.senate.gov/press/Gpress/2005/prg102405.pdf