Washington, DC – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, released the following statement on the nomination hearing for President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, in the Finance Committee today:
“Rebuilding our economy out of the ashes of the COVID recession and the mismanagement of the Trump administration calls for experience and deep understanding of the economic challenges Americans face. Janet Yellen demonstrated those qualities today.
“In particular, I was pleased to hear her commit to confronting the tsunami of dark-money influence drowning our political system. Treasury holds important power to require greater transparency and accountability for those seeking to influence government. I look forward to it resuming that work.
“Ms. Yellen offered a clear-eyed assessment of the economic risks of climate change, which threaten economic ruin if left unchecked. She called climate risk an ‘existential threat,’ and she recognized that we must ready our financial system for a transition away from fossil fuels and prepare for the damage already expected due to carbon pollution.
“Ms. Yellen also committed to swiftly carry out the important legislation we passed to tackle shell company abuse. Our bipartisan law empowers law enforcement to crack down on criminals, terrorists, and other corrupt forces in society that shield their ill-gotten gains and dark money schemes behind dummy corporations. That legislation must be a top priority for Treasury.
“I look forward to working with Ms. Yellen in meeting the challenges ahead.”
