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Senate Banking Committee Clears Five Obama Nominees

Lawmakers seated on the ""Senate Banking Committee"":http://banking.senate.gov/public/ slated five nominees to head up regulatory agencies for full-chamber votes Friday.

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Committee Chairman ""Tim Johnson"":http://www.johnson.senate.gov/public/ (D-South Dakota) led the voice vote that cleared nominees for boards responsible for the ""Federal Reserve System"":http://www.federalreserve.gov/, ""FDIC"":http://www.fdic.gov/, and ""Troubled Asset Relief Program"":http://www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/tarpinfo.htm (TARP), among others.

The nominees set for up-or-down votes by the Senate include Jerome Powell and Jeremy Stein for governorships with the Fed;

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Jeremiah Norton, for a board role with the FDIC; Richard Berner, for directorship of the Office of Financial Research; and Christy Romero, for service as TARP's next special inspector general.

""We need strong leadership in these posts to solidify our nation's economic recovery and to help prevent another financial crisis,"" Johnson said in a statement. ""I believe that these nominees are well-qualified for the job and I am glad that we have moved them one step closer to confirmation.""

He said that he hopes the upper chamber will ""move quickly to consider and confirm"" the nominees, whom he called ""qualified"" and said had the ""support of members in both parties.""

Their clearance comes amid continued scrutiny and delays for many Obama administration nominees, notably ""Carol Galante"":http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/about/principal_staff/assistant_secretary_galante, who awaits confirmation as commissioner of the ""Federal Housing Administration"":http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/fhahistory.

A political football in any season, the nomination process remains controversial after President ""Barack Obama"":http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama signed off on a recess appointment for ""Consumer Financial Protection Bureau"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ Director Richard Cordray, bypassing Republican opposition in the Senate.

Added Johnson: ""[T]here is no good reason to block their confirmation.""