Janet Yellen Sworn in as Treasury Secretary

Janet L. Yellen was recently sworn in as the secretary of the Treasury Department. Ms. Yellen is the 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to head the department. As Treasury secretary she will be involved in the design, negotiation, and passage of a stimulus package intended to revive the economy. The Treasury secretary also oversees the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which administers the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.

During her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), during her questioning, said, “I look forward to working with you to increase Affordable Housing Tax Credits . . . we know you know and understand how much affordable housing is important to our country and economy.”

At another point, Yellen brought up the LIHTC credit when Senator Catherine Cortez Matso (D-NV) asked about how the Treasury Department could help address the affordable housing crisis in Nevada and across the country. Yellen acknowledged the problem and said, “We need to devise ways to support affordable housing. Things like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit have been very important. We need to come up with other innovative strategies because this really is a crisis in many parts of the country.”