Harry Reid’s boost for Fed chief Ben Bernanke’s renomination has a catch

By Lisa Mascaro

Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 | 2 a.m.

No one else was in the room except the powerful chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank and the Senate majority leader who could make or break the chairman’s renomination to his job.

Ben Bernanke met with Sen. Leader Harry Reid last week in the Nevadan’s office as the days were counting down before Bernanke’s term would expire.

Bankers are not popular. Voter unrest over the Wall Street bailout swells while Main Street continues to suffer. The pain of the Great Recession is severe in Nevada.

The meeting ended with a glaring omission: No announcement of Reid’s support for Bernanke’s confirmation.

Washington buzzed. Financial markets jittered. Senators dashed off statements of support and opposition to the nomination. Would the chairman of the Federal Reserve lose his job?

A day later Reid announced that he had an agreement from Bernanke to take steps that will help Nevada and the nation — and Bernanke had the majority leader’s vote.

“I made it clear that to merit confirmation, Chairman Bernanke must redouble his efforts to ensure families can access the credit they need to buy or keep their home, send their children to college or start a small business,” Reid said in a statement late Friday.

“Foreclosures and unemployment are endemic in Nevada. The American people are frustrated, and rightly so. I share their frustration, and I will continue to impress upon Chairman Bernanke that his most important job as America’s central banker is to give families and businesses the peace of mind that their economy is working for them,” Reid said.

“He has assured me he will soon outline plans for making that happen, and I eagerly await them,” Reid said. “My support is not unconditional.”

With that, Bernanke’s confirmation seems headed toward approval.