Yellen to appear before Senate Banking Committee Thursday WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Janet Yellen, on track to become the first woman Federal Reserve chief, will likely move a step closer Thursday when a Senate panel votes on her nomination. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs said on its website Monday it will meet in executive session at 10 a.m. Thursday to vote on whether to approve Yellen as chairwoman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Yellen is expected to receive a thumbs-up from the panel, which is weighted in her favor with Democrats, said The Wall Street Journal, which noted lawmakers from both parties have said they expect her to be confirmed. Her nomination goes to the full Senate once she makes it past the Banking Committee. American Banker reported Yellen spent the past several weeks meeting with committee members from both parties. She also testified before the panel last week. Yellen would succeed Ben Bernanke, who has been Fed chairman since February 2006. She has been the Federal Reserve's vice chairwoman since 2010. She previously was president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank for six years and taught at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, for many years.