Janet YellenPresident-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury will call for “major” action against the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis at her Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, according to prepared comments obtained by CBS News. The Senate begins Tuesday with confirmation hearings for Yellen and more key members of Mr. Biden’s cabinet.
“Economists don’t always agree, but I think there is now a consensus: without further action we risk a longer, more painful recession – and long-lasting scars of the economy later,” Yellen will say.
Her call to action comes just days after Mr. Biden outlined an FDR-like vision to get the coronavirus under control and address the economic crisis that has left millions of people unemployed since the beginning of last year.
“In the coming months, we’ll need more help to distribute the vaccine, reopen schools, to help states keep firefighters and teachers working,” Yellen will say in her comments. “We need more funding to make sure that unemployment insurance checks are still going out; and to help families at risk of starvation or losing the roof over their heads.”
Mr. Biden’s US $ 1.9 trillion bailout includes amenities such as extending increased unemployment benefits through September and increasing those benefits from the current $ 300 a week to $ 400 a week, sending direct aid to families in the form of $ 1,400 checks, the National Vaccine Distribution Plan, and a range of other emergency measures. Yellen will acknowledge the $ 1.9 trillion price tag on Tuesday.
“Neither the president-elect nor I are proposing this aid package without appreciation for the country’s indebtedness,” Yellen will say. “But right now, with interest rates hitting historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big. In the long run, I think the benefits far outweigh the costs, especially if we want to help people who are struggling for a very long time. . “
Yellen, who previously chaired the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, will state that she believes the Treasury Secretary has a dual mission: to help Americans get through the pandemic and get back to work, and also the to rebuild the economy so that American workers can compete worldwide.
Yellen is one of five Biden nominees to face Senate committees on Tuesday. Candidate Secretary of State Tony blinks, Designated retired General of Defense Lloyd Austin, Candidate Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and candidate for the Director of National Intelligence April Haines will also appear before Senate committees.
If confirmed, Yellen will be the first woman to serve as Secretary of the Treasury in the department’s more than 230-year history. She was also previously the first woman to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve.