The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“EXECUTIVE SESSION” mentioning the Federal Reserve System was published in the Senate section on pages S7027 on June 17, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
EXECUTIVE SESSION
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EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination on today's Executive Calendar, Alan Greenspan, which was reported by the Banking Committee today. I further ask unanimous consent that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The nomination considered and confirmed is as follows:
federal reserve system
Alan Greenspan, of New York, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term of four years.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, today the Senate has confirmed the nomination of Alan Greenspan to continue for yet another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. While I did not force the Senate to take a rollcall vote on the matter, I do want to make it clear for the record that had such a vote been taken, I would have opposed Mr. Greenspan's confirmation.
I hold Chairman Greenspan in high regard as a dedicated public servant; however, I am concerned that the economic objectives that Mr. Greenspan aims to advance all too often come at the expense of Americans who are too young, too old, or too poor to belong to the investor class. During earlier years of his tenure, I worried that his slow-growth, high-interest manipulation of monetary policy hurt American workers. This year, my concerns about his decisions as Chairman grew to alarm. I was stunned to read that Mr. Greenspan supported the President's tax cuts for the wealthiest people and corporations among us, while at the same time predicting that growing Federal budget deficits and the retirement of baby boomers would require cuts in Social Security and Medicare. It was particularly shocking given his enthusiastic support for deficit reduction during the Clinton administration.
Our economy is becoming deeply and disturbingly stratefied, and it is eating away at our country. Our fiscal policy and the monetary policy that Chairman Greenspan has steered have created a gulf separating the haves and have-nots in America, a gulf so wide that it seems like even a lifetime of dedicated and hard work can no longer guarantee Americans a ticket into the middle class. I worry that if we do not try to correct our economic policy and return it to a fairer and more just course, we will not be holding true to our promise of affording opportunity to everyone.
I am pleased to see that at last the economy is beginning to show signs of growth and job creation. However, it is essential that we pay attention to whether that prosperity is shared by more than just a small handful of people occupying the top rungs of our economic ladder. We need to make sure that our economic prosperity doesn't come at the expense of elderly people depending on Social Security or young people trying to get a start in the job market. I believe that we need someone at the helm of the Federal Reserve who gives these matters the regard that they deserve.
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