IN BRIEF The recovery from the Pandemic Recession has further to go . . .
Short report from the New York Times
Powell Pledges to Maintain Economic Support: Live Updates
Here’s what you need to know:
More > On Tuesday, Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, testified to lawmakers on the economic rebound from the pandemic recession and the threat of future inflation.
Credit Photo...Al Drago for The New York Times
"Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, told lawmakers that the economic rebound from the pandemic recession had further to go and reiterated that the central bank planned to keep up its growth-stoking policies, which include rock-bottom interest rates and large-scale bond buying.
"The economic recovery remains uneven and far from complete, and the path ahead is highly uncertain,” Mr. Powell said in prepared remarks he delivered to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. “Although there has been much progress in the labor market since the spring, millions of Americans remain out of work.”
Unemployment has come down sharply after surging last year, but the official jobless rate remains at nearly double its February 2020 level and probably understates the extent of weakness in the labor market.
Likewise, consumer spending has bounced back but the service sector remains subdued.
The Fed slashed interest rates to near-zero last March and is buying about $120 billion in government-backed bonds each month, policies aimed at fueling lending and spending. Congress and the White House have also provided support in the form of enormous spending packages, and Democrats are now pushing for another $1.9 trillion in relief for workers and businesses. . .
Mr. Powell said at one point that he would avoid weighing in on fiscal policy — a comment he made not long after Mr. Toomey said the central bank should avoid moving beyond its narrow economic mandate and into areas like racial inequity and climate change.
The Fed is politically independent and tends to avoid partisan issues, though it has been providing advice to policymakers in Congress and weighing in on socioeconomic disparities over the past year.
READ MORE >> RECOVERY IS FAR FROM COMPLETE
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