“No one deserves more credit than Chairman Yellen for the longest economic expansion in U.S. history,” said Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which voted unanimously Friday to advance her nomination.
The full Senate vote was 84 to 15, making Yellen the first woman to head the Treasury. She has received support from most Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, a minority leader.
“I have a very big disagreement with Dr. Yellen on a number of her positions, especially in the area of tax policy, but she is committed to working with us on these issues and the concerns we have,” Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said Friday after voting for her in committee. “I think the strong voice on our part to support her today is an indication that we want to get involved.”
The head of the treasury exerts extensive influence across the government, playing a key role in shaping the administration’s position on taxation, the economy and financial regulation, while also serving as an international diplomat by hand in trade negotiations and sanctions policy.
However, the immediate focus will be on the economic pain of the pandemic, which took the lives of more than 400,000 Americans and forced businesses to cease operations across the country.
“The pandemic caused great devastation,” Yellen told the committee during her trial. ‘Whole industries have interrupted their work. Eighteen million unemployment insurance claims are paid every week. Food bank shelves go empty. The damage is sweeping, and as the president-elect said last Thursday, so must our response. ”
She suggested last week that the government in Biden would wait until the economy is stronger before placing tax increases on wealthy Americans and companies. Yellen said the government would like to raise taxes for other things, such as a plan to increase infrastructure spending, which would come after the coronavirus legislation.
Meanwhile, the administration will have to choose a course on dealing with China; President Donald Trump has stepped down with tariffs on more than $ 350 billion in Chinese goods, as well as levies on steel and aluminum imports implemented by his national security authorities.
Yellen told senators that the Biden administration would use all available tools to confront unfair Chinese trade practices, but stopped endorsing Trump’s tariff tactics.
She is also under pressure from the left to focus on the interconnections between the financial system and climate change. Yellen said she plans to start a new “center” of the Treasury that will investigate the risks of financial systems due to climate change and the related tax policy incentives. She plans to appoint an official at a very senior level to lead the climate efforts.
In written responses to senators announced Thursday, Yellen endorsed the idea of a higher minimum wage, a position strongly supported by the left.
“Raising the minimum wage will lift tens of millions of Americans out of poverty, while expanding access to opportunities for many small businesses nationwide,” she wrote. “It matters how it is implemented, and the president’s minimum wage will be phased in over time, giving small businesses enough time to adapt.”