In Brief: Clinton Team Has Short List for Fed Seats

President Clinton will get a list of potential Federal Reserve Board nominees soon, according to one of his top economic policy advisers, who's helping compile the list.

Gene Sperling, the new head of President Clinton's National Economic Council, told reporters in his office that with the State of the Union address and release of the President's fiscal 1998 budget proposal now behind them, Mr. Clinton's economic team is concentrating on filling the two vacancies. They were created by the departures of Fed Governors Lawrence Lindsey and Janet Yellen.

"We're down to a short list," Mr. Sperling said. "There are more than two people on the list and less than 10. What happens next is we'll do some interviews and make a recommendation to the President."

Finding suitable candidates has been compounded by the need to fill two vacancies, he said. "When you have two, it makes sense to consider them together. We have the aspiration to do both at the same time."

Though the administration looks favorably on a banking background, Mr. Sperling said, that isn't the only criterion in making a choice.

Ms. Yellen, 50, stepped down from the Fed to head Mr. Clinton's economic think tank, the White House Council of Economic Advisers. She has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

Mr. Lindsey, 42, resigned from the Fed effective Feb. 5 to join the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank known for its advocacy of conservative policy positions.