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June 10, 2005 8:00 AM, EDT

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he Senate Banking Committee approved Federal Reserve Governor Ben Bernanke to head the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

His nomination now goes to the full Senate for a vote, where Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), predicted confirmation, Bloomberg said.

Confirmation would put Bernanke, 51, into a job that has been a stepping stone to chairmanship of the Federal Reserve Board, Bloomberg said.

Bernanke, who has been on the Fed’s board of governors since 2002, backed President Bush's economic priorities at his confirmation hearing in May. He said the country needs an energy strategy, solutions for dealing with an aging population and a simpler tax code, Bloomberg reported.

Bernanke would succeed Harvey Rosen as chairman of the council, who is returning to a teaching position at Princeton this month.