Janet Yellen in Biden Cabinet members actions and issues
On Corporations:
Investigate retail trading; ensure investors are protected
Yellen told "Good Morning America" it was critical to ensure "that our financial markets are functioning properly, efficiently and that investors are protected." Yellen convened the heads of the SEC, CFTC, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York to discuss retail trading and "whether or not the recent events warrant further action," she told ABC. "We need to understand deeply what happened before we go to action, but certainly we're looking carefully at these events."
Source: Reuters news service on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Feb 4, 2021
On Families & Children:
Will work every day toward rebuilding American dream
After Biden confirmed Yellen's nomination as treasury secretary on Nov. 30, she took to Twitter with a message about her priorities in her first-ever tweet: "We face great challenges as a country right now," she wrote. "To recover, we must restore the
American dream -- a society where each person can rise to their potential and dream even bigger for their children. As Treasury Secretary, I will work every day towards rebuilding that dream for all."
Source: Brown University press release on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Feb 4, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Got permission from ethics lawyers before acting
Before calling the meeting, Yellen sought and received permission from Treasury ethics lawyers to do so and ensure that she was in compliance with her ethics agreement.
Reuters reported here on Monday that such an ethics waiver might be necessary because of the over $700,000 in speaking fees Yellen was paid by Citadel LLC, a hedge fund that has been at the center of the GameStop trading saga.
Source: Reuters news service on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Feb 4, 2021
On Tax Reform:
Efficient taxation of multinational companies a priority
Yellen was voted-in to replace Steven Mnuchin, who suspended OECD-led talks on the two-pillar digital tax approach in June 2020. Corporate confidence is high on Yellen restarting negotiations after she stressed that efficient taxation of multinational
companies was a priority."Working in the context of the OECD negotiations on global taxation, we have much greater leverage to keep our American firms competitive if we avoid a race to the bottom in corporate taxation more globally," said Yellen.
Source: International Tax Review on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 29, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Attended high school named for America's first Treasurer
Yellen, who was the chairperson of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, graduated as valedictorian from Fort Hamilton High School in 1963 and was elected to the school's Hall of Fame in 1993. "Fort Hamilton H.S. was named after the country's first
Treasury secretary, so how amazing is it that the class of 1963's valedictorian has now been named to that position?" said Valerie Hodgson, president of the Fort Hamilton H.S. Alumni Association.
Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 28, 2021
On Budget & Economy:
Does not seek a weaker U.S. currency; let markets determine
She also that the value of the dollar should be determined by markets, a break from departing President Donald Trump's desire for a weaker
U.S. currency. "The United States does not seek a weaker currency to gain competitive advantage and we should oppose attempts by other countries to do so," she said.
Source: Reuters news service on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 19, 2021
On Energy & Oil:
Can't solve climate crisis without effective carbon pricing
During her confirmation hearing, Yellen talked about climate change as a priority, describing it as an existential threat and a risk to the financial system. In response to senators' questions, she wrote that she believes "we cannot solve the climate
crisis without effective carbon pricing" and that President Joe Biden "supports an enforcement mechanism that requires polluters to bear the full cost of the carbon pollution they are emitting."
Source: TheConversation.com blog on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 19, 2021
On Tax Reform:
Corporations & wealthy need to pay their fair share
Yellen said pandemic relief would take priority over tax increases, but corporations and the wealthy, which both benefited from 2017 Republican tax cuts "need to pay their fair share."She raised eyebrows of some senators and
Wall Street when she said that Treasury would consider the possibility of taxing unrealized capital gains - through a "mark-to-market" mechanism - as well as other approaches to boost revenues.
Source: Reuters news service on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 19, 2021
On Corporations:
Worried about insufficient oversight of investment firms
Yellen, whose financial disclosures show that she earned a total of $7 million in fees over the past two years, voiced worry about insufficient oversight of large firms that serve as hubs of lending or investment. She says
regulators should particularly consider reining in hedge funds and other firms that have escaped heightened scrutiny since the 2008 credit crisis, including in the landmark Dodd-Frank law, which largely focused on big banks.
Source: Politico e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 10, 2021
On Corporations:
Risks of hedge funds' debt very real and serious
Hedge funds are among the big financial institutions that Yellen has dealt with in her remarks. In remarks at the Brookings event, she said financial market stress showed that the risks posed by hedge funds'
debt-fueled investments "were very real and serious," though she did not directly characterize them as responsible for the market seize up.
Source: Politico e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 10, 2021
Page last updated: May 20, 2021