Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank stands ready to take additional steps to boost U.S. growth and cautioned lawmakers against budget moves that would harm a “sluggish” recovery.
The Fed “will continue to closely monitor economic developments and is prepared to take further action as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability,” Bernanke said today in testimony to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee in Washington.
The remarks signal Bernanke may not be finished after attempts in August and September to strengthen record monetary stimulus with unconventional tools. The central bank’s near-zero benchmark interest rate and $2.3 trillion of housing and government-debt purchases since 2008 have failed to produce self-sustaining growth in the economy and employment.
Lawmakers on the separate bipartisan congressional supercommittee charged with seeking $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by Nov. 23 would take a “substantial step” by accomplishing that goal, Bernanke, 57, said in prepared remarks. At the same time, “more will be needed to achieve fiscal sustainability,” he said.
“A second important objective is to avoid fiscal actions that could impede the ongoing economic recovery,” Bernanke said. “Putting in place a credible plan for reducing future deficits over the longer term does not preclude attending to the implications of fiscal choices for the recovery in the near term,” he said, without being more specific.
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