Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a well-respected member of the chamber, took to the floor on Thursday to announce for the first time his opposition to the confirmation of Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. He previously told HuffPost that Bernanke did not appear to "give a red-hot damn about the American public."
The Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday afternoon on Bernanke's re-confirmation, despite not having access to documents related to the Fed chair's role in the Wall Street bailout in the fall of 2008. Yet his supporters cite his actions during that crisis -- the very actions that the documents would illuminate -- as the primary reason to confirm him to a second term.
Sens. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have so far taken to the floor to announce opposition to Bernanke. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) took to the floor to back him.
Several Democratic senators have pledged to vote to end the filibuster against Bernanke, but then vote to oppose him on the floor.
The cloture vote is scheduled for 3:20 p.m.
Bunning noted on the floor that many of the senators have yet to get access to the documents he has seen as a member of the Banking Committee. Dodd, the committee chairman, said he understood Bunning's concerns.
"There is an effort being made" to allow senators to review the information, said Dodd, two hours before the vote. Dodd also mentioned that there had been a House hearing on the AIG bailout.
The vote also comes a day after revelations of just who was paid off during the AIG bailout but before the document, obtained by HuffPost, has been fully analyzed.
UPDATE 2:20 p.m.: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the Republican whip, offered a brutal assessment of Bernanke on the Senate floor, but said he would vote to confirm him on the assumption that anybody Obama would nominate to replace him would be worse.
Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, dominated by banking interests, also announced he'd support Bernanke, as did Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced no votes.
Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) said he wasn't announcing his vote yet. Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) said he was undecided. Kaufman, Biden's replacement, is not running in 2010. By not indicating his intentions, he is still free to give the leadership his vote if it's needed.
UPDATE 3:10 p.m.: Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, announced her measured support of Bernanke prior to the vote. Murray is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the Senate. She is up for reelection in 2010 and her seat was considered safe until last week. The new recognition of a populist sentiment in the country may be the reason she waited so long to announce her decision, which is delivered with a pile of criticism for the chairman.
Because it's so representative of other supporting statements from Democrats -- Bernanke may have helped burn down the house, but he did well putting the fire out -- it's worth publishing in full:
Across our nation today, Americans are hurting. The economy is struggling and while it seems like Wall Street is doing just fine, Main Street continues to suffer. It's the slow pace of our recovery, coupled with continued excess by big financial institutions, that has caused Americans to question whether Ben Bernanke is deserving of a second term as head of the Federal Reserve.
There's no question that the Fed's policies haven't been perfect. Millions of American families and thousands of businesses have suffered considerable economic hardships. Unemployment remains high and small businesses still can't access the credit they need. There are still signs of fragility in our housing markets. And I'm absolutely furious that Wall Street is returning to a 'bonuses as usual' mentality when so many Americans are still struggling.
But, looking back over the past 18 months, at how close our financial system came to the brink, I believe that the Federal Reserve took forceful and effective action to prevent a collapse of global financial markets and a full-fledged economic depression in the United States.
The Federal Reserve aggressively lowered interest rates to stimulate demand and drive economic growth. And the Fed created new, unprecedented programs to provide credit to households for consumer, auto, credit card and student loans. And it helped keep credit flowing to businesses when frozen credit markets threatened mass failures and job losses. The Fed's actions are continuing to maintain stability today.
The concern across our state and nation about the pace of our recovery is understandable. I share that concern. I have shared it with Ben Bernanke directly. I told him I expect accountability and transparency from the Fed and a commitment to put the needs of American consumers ahead of Wall Street banks. And while I hope to see a shakeup in the Administration's economic policies and a true push for reform on Wall Street, I will vote to reconfirm Ben Bernanke because we need his experience to help maintain the stability of our financial systems in this challenging time.