Powell asks Congress for more support for the economy | The NY Journal

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday that there are signs of recovery in the economy due to the aid that was approved to sustain and stimulate it but warned that the future is uncertain. without that support.

In his speech, Powell explained that both employment and the economy are showing signs of recovery after the first crises in March and April but as a whole it is worse than before the pandemic “and the road ahead continues to be very uncertain”.

Powell recalled that the crisis has had a very unequal effect on citizens and the worst part has been taken by the most vulnerable and those with the lowest income, especially the African American community, the Latino community and women. For the Fed president, the future will depend on having the virus under control “and on political actions taken at all levels of government.” Key to these grants are transfers to states and localities.

The Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, in that same committee, said that both he and the president are willing to continue maintaining support for workers and companies. In this sense, he said that a very oriented aid package is needed where it is most needed.

The possibilities that the Senate, with a Republican majority, will do something significant in this regard are very limited and it has been months without rush to show results. The president of the Chicago Federal Reserve, Charles Evans, explained in a virtual forum organized in London that he sees recessionary dynamics if Congress does not approve a new aid package with aid to the states.