Yesterday, in a bipartisan vote, the Senate Banking Committee approved Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's nomination to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. The vote wasn't in any doubt, although the closeness of the margin, 16 to 7, does indicate the contentiousness of Bernanke's nomination. The nomination now heads to the Senate floor, where, barring some crazy unforeseen calamity, he will be nominated to another four year term in January.

Yesterday, in what most news organizations are calling a "flurry" of legislative action, the House passed a relatively large package of contentious bills, including the Defense appropriations bill, an increase to the debt limit, and a jobs bill. The Defense bill, originally thought to be the most difficult of the four bills, easily sailed through the House, 395 to 34, and the Senate immediately began its debate on the bill. The other two bills, however, proved to be much closer, and foreshadow legislative confrontations in the beginning of 2010.

The House has passed its version of S. 303, the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 2009. The bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to standardize the federal grant application process and reauthorizes Grants.gov, an online resource to apply for federal awards. The measure would increase federal grant transparency.