The U.S. Senate Banking Committee
said the renomination hearing of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan would be held Wednesday starting at 2 p.m..
The hearing was originally scheduled for 10 a.m.
.
The Banking Committee did not meet Tuesday because a
surprise winter snowstorm in the nation's capital shut down the
government.
President Clinton reappointed the 73-year-old Greenspan for
a fourth term. Once approved by the committee, the reappointment
will be put to a full vote on the Senate floor.
The Senate Banking hearing is scheduled just days before the
U.S. economic expansion enters its 107th month in February,
making it the longest on record, overtaking the 1961-69
expansion.
Sen. Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, has suggested he
will vote against Greenspan's reappointment because he contends
that the Fed is not accountable enough to the public.
Some analysts say Greenspan's age could be a problem. If he
serves out his full four-year term, he will then be 78. Some Fed
watchers have speculated he may quit halfway through to make way
for a younger successor.
