Senate committee OK's Bernanke nomination

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Ben Bernanke as the next head of the Federal Reserve.

President George Bush's nominee to head the world's most important central bank now heads to the full Senate, where confirmation is expected.

During the committee's hearing earlier this week, senators asked Bernanke, a Ph.D. from Princeton University's faculty and current head of Bush's economic advisory panel, to clarify his advocacy of designated inflation targets and the level of his commitment to full employment.

If approved by the full Senate, Bernanke would succeed Alan Greenspan, who has run the Fed for 18 years.