Wyden Statement at Finance Committee Business Meeting on the Nominations of Lily Batchelder, Benjamin Harris, Nellie Liang and Jonathan Davidson to Treasury Department

As Prepared for Delivery

The Finance Committee meets this morning to consider four nominations to key positions at the Treasury Department. Lily Batchelder is nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. Jon Davidson is nominated to serve as Deputy Under Secretary for Legislative Affairs. Ben Harris is nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy. Nellie Liang is nominated to serve as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance.

Professor Batchelder is a well-known face around the Finance Committee. For four years she served as Chief Tax Counsel to former Chairman Max Baucus. Later she became the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council under President Obama. She’s also the Robert C. Kopple Family Professor of Taxation at NYU School of Law. Professor Batchelder is among the leading experts when it comes to crafting tax policies that give everybody in America a fair shot to get ahead, not just those at the top.

Jon Davidson is also a friend of this committee, having served as Chief of Staff to Senator Bennet for a decade and in other roles in the Congress for a decade prior to that. Mr. Davidson has helped to lead one of the most innovative shops around when it comes to policies that help working families and the middle class. He’s also played a key role in helping the Biden administration hit the ground running from day one after a challenging transition.

Dr. Harris has been a key member of the Biden economic team for a long time. In the face of the worst economic crash in a century, he helped craft an agenda based on bold, fresh ideas for how to expand the economic winners’ circle. Already that Biden agenda has helped cut poverty, increase wages and move the economy closer to recovery.

Dr. Liang would be the first Senate-confirmed Under Secretary for Domestic Finance since 2014. This role is all about protecting our economy from downturns and maintaining stability. She has exactly the right experience, having served at the Federal Reserve for three decades, including as the first-ever Director of the Division of Financial Stability when that position was created after the Great Recession.

All four of these nominees are highly qualified. They’ll round out an all-star leadership team at the Treasury under Secretary Yellen and Deputy Secretary Adeyemo. They had an excellent hearing before this committee last month. I’m going to support all four today, and I look forward to the discussion during today’s meeting of the committee.

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