Senate Panel Backs Bernanke for a Second Term at Fed WASHINGTON - The Senate Banking Committee voted Thursday to approve the nomination of Ben S. Bernanke for a second four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The 16-to-7 vote, which came after flashes of populist anger erupted amid a sluggish and uneven economic recovery, was not unexpected. President Obama has said the nomination would provide crucial continuity as the country works through its gravest economic challenges in decades. But it represented a retreat from Mr. Bernanke's near-unanimous approval by the committee four years ago. Neither party's members voted as a bloc, and even some of Mr. Bernanke's supporters said they harbored reservations and might reconsider when the vote went to the Senate. Even as Mr. Bernanke is widely credited for helping stabilize markets and averting economic calamity, outspoken critics, not all of them Republicans, have blamed him for enormously costly initiatives that have bolstered some Wall Street financial firms while leaving ordinary Americans staring at persistent double-digit jobless rates. Mr. Bernanke, 56, has also been criticized for not doing more to prevent the financial crisis. He was originally named by President Bush in 2005 to succeed Alan Greenspan as the Fed chairman. Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the committee's ranking Republican, said that Mr. Bernanke, first as a member of the board of governors and then as chairman, was complicit in creating an atmosphere that encouraged risk-taking and contributed to the disastrous housing price bubble - signs of which, Mr. Shelby said, Mr. Bernanke had missed. "Our trust and confidence were misplaced," Mr. Shelby said, shortly before voting against the nominee. Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, also opposed the nomination, saying that even if Mr. Bernanke "has shown himself to be quite adroit with the fire hose" since the crisis erupted, he bore some responsibility for its outbreak, and thus for the loss of jobs and depleted savings accounts. Some of the critics" complaints had merit, said the committee chairman, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut. Still, Mr. Dodd added, "Chairman Bernanke must also receive credit for the critical role he played in the events of last fall." Had he and others not acted, Mr. Dodd said, the nation probably would have faced "utter economic catastrophe - and I believe nothing short of that was at risk." Instead, Mr. Dodd added, "I believe better days do lie ahead." A Republican, Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, offered a strong endorsement of the nominee. While "mistakes were made" under his purview, Mr. Gregg said, Mr. Bernanke's swift reaction to the financial crisis had proved crucial. "I tell you, it worked," he said. It's that simple. But Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont, strongly opposes Mr. Bernanke's nomination because of his role in the bailouts and has put a hold on the nomination. That means it will require 60 votes, not a simple majority. Although his confirmation appears likely, a number of no votes are expected from members of both parties when the full Senate votes and if Mr. Bernanke is not confirmed by Jan. 31, when his term ends, then the Fed's vice chairman, Donald L. Kohn, would temporarily take over. President Obama, in announcing his nomination of Mr. Bernanke in August, said he had led the Fed through "one of the worst financial crises that this nation and this world have ever faced" and, because of his background, his expertise on the Depression and his unflappable personality, was ideally suited to help lead the recovery. During his four years, Mr. Bernanke has emerged as a favorite target of liberals and conservatives alike. Critics have tried to portray him as cozy with Wall Street elites and slow to react to signs that the financial system was on the brink of collapse. Mr. Bernanke, a former professor at Princeton, was initially criticized as too academic, but he has since spearheaded some of the most interventionist actions by the Fed in its history. At a hearing earlier this month, Mr. Bernanke acknowledged mistakes by the Fed in the runup to the financial crisis. But Mr. Bernanke adamantly defended the Fed's response to the crisis, particularly its efforts to crack down on banks, subprime mortgages, credit card fees and executive compensation. Mr. Bernanke has often been forced to navigate the line between doing too much and too little, and he has faced the constant danger of pushing the economy into a deeper downturn if the central bank's extraordinary measures were withdrawn too quickly. At the hearing earlier this month, Mr. Bernanke bristled at proposals to strip the Fed of its power, saying the central bank had unique expertise and knew the inner workings of major financial institutions better than any entity. Adding to the intensity surrounding Mr. Bernanke's appointment, Time Magazine named him this week as its Person of the Year, citing his role in leading the economic recovery. Mr. Bernanke's visage appears on the magazine's cover, superimposed on a dollar. When the Senate Banking Committee took a voice vote on Mr. Bernanke's first nomination as Fed chairman, only one senator opposed the nominee: Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky. On Thursday, Mr. Bunning, who has one of the most conservative voting records in the Senate, remained a thorn in the chairman's side. In delivering his criticism, he cited a blogger's remark that giving Mr. Bernanke the Person of the Year citation was like rewarding the captain of the Titanic. Brian Knowlton reported from Washington, and Javier C. Her- nandez from New York. Brian Knowlton reported from Washington, and Javier C. Hernandez from New York.