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Cloture Vote: Bernanke Re-elected Chairman Of Federal Reserve

by Yuliya Talmazan | January 28, 2010 at 03:38 pm

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Ben Bernanke was re-elected as the Chairman of Federal Reserve by Senate today. Bernanke was voted 70 to 30. But, before the Senate re-elected Bernanke today, a cloture vote had to be held first.

But what does cloture vote mean? In parliamentary procedure, cloture is a motion aimed at bringing debate to quick end. The word is French in origin and stands for "closure." Today, U.S. Senate voted 77-23 to cut off the debate on Bernanke's nomination for second term, which surpassed the 60 votes that were required. The vote to actually re-elect Bernanke followed the cloture vote.

Many criticized Bernanke's nomination for not acting quick enough to prevent the financial crisis and bailing out the banks. Others say it was not one man's job to stop the crisis. President Obama himself gave his support to Bernanke ahead of the vote.

“Bernanke fiddled while our markets burned,” huffed Richard Shelby, of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, during Thursday's debate. “Ben Bernanke's Federal Reserve played a key role in setting the stage for the financial crisis.

"The chairmanship of Ben Bernanke has in no small measure made it possible for this nation to avoid a catastrophe,” said Senate Banking Committee Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.

Here is a tally of Senators who voted for and against Bernanke.

Bernanke was first appointed the Chairman of Federal Reserve under George W. Bush in 2005. He was declared 2009 person of the year by TIME magazine.