Economist Summers Confirmed by Senate

Lawrence H. Summers, formerly the Nathaniel Ropes professor of Poltical Economy at Harvard, was confirmed by a vote of 74-21 to be the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury last Friday.

Summers has also served as Chief Economist of the World Bank and Treasury undersecretary for international affairs.

"He is an extraordinary economist and policy maker," said Lawrence Katz, professor of economics and the former chief economist for the U.S. Department of Labor and professor of economics. "He'll do a terrific job. He's made contributions to fundamental areas of economics."

President Clinton announced his intention to nominate Summers on June 13. "Larry Summers is a talented and widely respected economist. He has served me and this Administraiton with distincition as we have faced new interantioanl challenges. He is a man of shared vision and I have full confidence in him and in his ability to continue the strong leadership provided by Frank Newman," Clinton said in a release.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.) criticized Summers for failing warn people that the peso was in trouble. However, this criticism was not enough to seriously threaten the nomination of Summers, who received tenure at Harvard before the age of 30.