Republicanos bloquean nominados a la Fed

Genevieve Signoret & Patrick Signoret

Reuters reporta que es poco probable que los candidatos a la Junta de Gobernadores de la Reserva Federal nominados por Obama hace meses sean ratificados por el Senado. El comité de política monetaria sigue estando incompleto y Bernanke pierde apoyo potencial, gracias en parte a una pugna política que ha durado años.

President Barack Obama’s two nominees to the Federal Reserve appear likely to fall victim to a long-running political feud, which would leave the central bank short-handed as it struggles with tough regulatory and monetary policy questions.

Republican Senator David Vitter has demanded that the Senate hold a debate before any vote on the nominees, which would require Democratic leaders to muster a super majority to move forward – a hurdle that may be too high to clear.

As a result, the Senate may end up abandoning the nominees, Harvard economist Jeremy Stein and investment banker Jerome Powell, and leave a decision on filling out the normally seven-member Fed board until after this year’s presidential election.

…More troubling to some is the antipathy toward the Fed that Vitter’s opposition reflects. His move is merely the latest skirmish in an eye-for-an-eye vendetta in which both parties have blocked Fed nominees in the hope they would soon capture the White House.

…Republicans, including presidential contender Mitt Romney, have deplored the Fed’s aggressive steps to stimulate the weak economy as a dangerous flirtation with inflation, while left-of-center voices have taken the central bank to task for not being even more aggressive.

…Since officials on the Fed board are usually aligned with the chairman on matters of policy, thin staffing could weaken support for Bernanke as he tries to maintain consensus behind an ultra-easy monetary policy in the face of the criticism.