WASHINGTON – Senator Joe Manchin says he will oppose the nomination of one of President Biden’s key Federal Reserve Board picks.
In a March 14 press statement, Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he will not support Sarah Bloom Raskin to be Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank. A Duke University law professor, Raskin is a former Fed governor and served as the deputy Treasury secretary in the Obama administration. She has been outspoken in pushing the Fed and other financial agencies to use regulatory powers to stifle the flow of capital to the coal, oil and natural gas industries.
Manchin cited those issues and related public statements in his comment.
Manchin
“Now more than ever, the United States must have policy leaders and economic experts who are focused on the most pressing issues facing the American people and our nation – specifically rising inflation and energy costs,” Manchin said. “I have carefully reviewed Sarah Bloom Raskin’s qualifications and previous public statements. Her previous public statements have failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation’s critical energy needs.
“I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to support her nomination to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board.”
On March 15, Raskin withdrew her name from consideration for the position.
As others have said about Raskin, Manchin said the Federal Reserve Board “is not an institution that should politicize its critical decisions.”
In a 2020 New York Times opinion piece titled “Why is the Fed Spending So Much Money on a Dying Industry?,” Raskin said the Federal Reserve should use its power to withdraw capital from traditional energy sources such as coal, oil and natural gas and direct it toward emerging technologies.
“This is a 10-year term to perhaps the most important independent body that is tasked with ensuring the stability of the American economy,” Manchin said. “At this historic moment for both the United States and the world at large, it is imperative the Federal Reserve Board preserves its independence and steers clear of any hint of partisanship.
“Instead, the Federal Reserve Board must remain hyper focused on ending the inflation taxes hurting working families and getting more workers off the sidelines and back into the economy. The time has come for the Federal Reserve Board to return to its defining principles and dual mandate of controlling inflation by ensuring stable prices and maximum employment. I will not support any future nominee that does not respect these critical priorities.”
Raskin’s nomination has been before the Senate Banking Committee after a Republican boycott of a vote on her. Last week, Manchin asked the committee to go ahead with Biden’s other nominees, including Chairman Jerome Powell.
Manchin’s latest decision casts doubt on Raskin’s nomination with the Senate split 50-50. She would need at least one Republican vote.
In response to Manchin’s announcement, a White House spokesperson said many of the most criticism against Raskin has come from people associated with the energy industry.
“Sarah Bloom Raskin is one of the most qualified people to have ever been nominated for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors,” the spokesperson told CNBC. “She has earned widespread support in the face of an unprecedented, baseless campaign led by oil and gas companies that sought to tarnish her distinguished career. We are working to line up the bipartisan support that she deserves, so that she can be confirmed by the Senate for this important position.”
Last month, West Virginia’s other senator came out against Raskin’s nomination, as did all three of the state’s House delegation.
“She has publicly and in her written and oral statements previous to being nominated has said the Fed should discourage all financial institutions in this country to not invest or have any business dealings with our fossil fuel industry,” Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told The West Virginia Record. “So, she thinks the Fed should get in and regulate her own environmental views.
“We don’t need somebody like that at the Fed. And then, when she got into committee and was asked about this, she tried to walk away from these statements. But these were not tweets. These were written op-eds. These are speeches she’s given.
“I think her preconceived notions would not only disadvantage our industries in West Virginia, but they really harm a lot of people who are employed in those industries.”
Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics for the Pacific Research Institute, said Raskin’s ideas “obviously would have a very negative impact on those industries.”
“Of course, it’s going to vary by different parts of the industry and by the size of the company,” Winegarden told The Record. “Nobody is going to be spared though. That’s the purpose of her claim.
“They’re trying to encourage less use of those products. Smaller coal companies would have a more difficult time than a big multinational conglomerate that has other capital sources.”
