Yellen makes a case for bold stimulus spending on Capitol Hill

Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, struck a bipartisan tone at her confirmation hearing Tuesday, urging Congress to move swiftly on bold stimulus spending while acknowledging the implications for America’s debt burden.

Yellen, who would be the first female Treasury secretary in American history, underscored the urgency of Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal. With interest rates at historic lows, she said, “the smartest thing we can do is act big.”

While the priority must be to get the economy back on track, she said, leaders are responsible for putting the federal budget on a sustainable path and “make sure that what we do in respect to deficit and debt will leave future generations better off.”

Biden last week proposed one of the largest relief packages in history in an effort to address the economic and public health crises he will inherit when he takes office Wednesday.

Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, told the Senate finance committee Tuesday that she would also over time work to get an additional stimulus package passed “to get through these dark times before the vaccination program enables us to go back to life as we knew it.”

Lawmakers have already enacted trillions of dollars in relief funds under President Donald Trump to address the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic. But with job losses ticking up and millions still unemployed, Biden and congressional Democrats have made clear their first legislative priority will be a wide-ranging stimulus package.

“The pandemic has caused widespread devastation,” Yellen said in her testimony. “The damage has been sweeping, and as the President-elect said last Thursday, our response must be, too.”

Yellen said providing relief for those in the greatest need would give the government the most bang per buck, including extended unemployment insurance. That said, investing in public health and the vaccine rollout would also be an efficient way to spend government funds, she added.

America’s role in the global economy

Yellen won’t relax the United States’ view on China if confirmed as Treasury secretary, she told senators.

“China is undercutting American companies by dumping products, erecting trade barriers, and giving away subsidies,” she said.

“I believe we should try to address unfair trade practices, and the best way to do that is to work with our allies rather than unilaterally,” Yellen added.

She called out the need for efficient taxation of multinational companies and said that negotiations through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development would pave the way for that.

Yellen said US firms would have to be able to be globally competitive and better taxation “would enable us to collect a fair share from corporations while maintaining competitiveness.”

Yellen also said the United States does not seek a weaker currency in order to gain a competitive advantage on the global market.

Widespread support for Yellen

Yellen has widespread support for her nomination. All living former US Treasury secretaries called on Congress to swiftly confirm her.

“We believe that delaying the confirmation of our government’s principal economic official would create unnecessary risk during this critical time,” said the endorsement, signed by Republicans like Hank Paulson and John Snow as well as Democrats Robert Rubin and Larry Summers. It was released Tuesday ahead of the hearing.

The former officials warned that the United States faces “unprecedented economic conditions” that will require thoughtful engagement from the Treasury Department.

“Any gap in its leadership would risk setting back recovery efforts,” according to the letter, which was also signed by James Baker, George Shultz, Tim Geithner and Jacob Lew.

Yellen, the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, has the credentials required by the crisis, the former officials said.

“It is our view — based on personal experience for many of us — that Dr. Yellen’s experience, knowledge, judgment, and character make her uniquely qualified for this role,” the letter said.

The former Treasury secretaries pointed out that Yellen was previously confirmed by the Senate, most recently in 2014.

“It is hard to imagine a better prepared nominee to meet this great moment of need than Dr. Yellen,” they wrote.

The hope is that Yellen’s confirmation will reassure nervous allies overseas.

“Any delay in confirming Dr. Yellen will only allow concern and confusion to grow among our allies,” the letter said.

— CNN’s Phil Mattingly and Matt Egan contributed to this report