Clinton Finishes Cabinet Appointments -- Dec. 20, 1996

Yellen, Alvarez Confirmed In Unanimous Senate Vote

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Feb. 14) -- The Senate has confirmed President Bill Clinton's choice to head the Council of Economic Advisers, Janet Yellen. Aida Alvarez was also approved to head the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Both confirmations were unanimous. Yellen, a former University of California, Berkeley economics professor, has been on the Federal Reserve Board since 1994. She calls herself a "non-ideological pragmatist" and replaces Joseph Stiglitz on the council.

Alvarez, calling small business "the heart and soul of the American economy," was formerly director of federal housing enterprise oversight at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and replaces Phil Lader at the SBA. Alvarez' other work experience includes nine years as a journalist and a stint with the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.