US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday it was acceptable for the Federal Reserve to recalibrate the aid it provides to the US economy, given rapidly rising costs and the strength of the recovery.
“Given the strength of our economy and recent price increases, this is appropriate because … Fed Chairman [Jerome] Powell indicated, to recalibrate the support that is now needed,” Biden said at a briefing.
“The essential task of ensuring that high prices do not take root falls to the Federal Reserve, which has a dual mandate: full employment and stable prices,” the president said.
At the same time, he said, the White House and Congress could help contain inflation by moving to fix chain failures, incentivize competitors and shift its Build Back Better spending bill. which he said would reduce baby care and different household prices.
Fed policymakers have signaled they may raise interest rates several times this year, likely starting in March, to try to rein in inflation, which is rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years. A reduction in the Fed’s $8 trillion control sheet could quickly follow.
During his renomination heard earlier this month, Powell told lawmakers he would not allow inflation to take hold and said a tighter hedging policy was essential to keep the economy growing. ‘economy.
Biden also appealed to the US Senate to back up his latest nominations for key Federal Reserve Board positions “without further ado”.
Biden earlier this month nominated former Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin for the Fed’s first regulatory post and two black economists, Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson, to form the seven-member board of directors of the fed.
Late last year, Biden reappointed Powell to lead the Fed for another four years and appointed Fed Governor Lael Brainard as Fed Vice Chairman. The picks would make the Fed board the most different in the central bank’s 108-year history.