–Senate Banking Panel Republican Says US Needs ‘True Fiscal Reform’
–‘Artificially Lowering Interest Rates’ Won’t Fix Econ
–Urges Bernanke To Show ‘Humility,’ Accept Limits For Fed
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Sen. Bob Corker, a senior Republican member of
the Senate Banking Committee, Tuesday issued another stern warning to
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, saying the Fed should not
commence another round of quantitative easing when the FOMC meets later
this week.
“I hope Chairman Bernanke will show humility and make clear that
there are limits to what monetary policy can achieve,” Corker said in a
statement.
Corker said the solution to the nation’s economic struggles is not
more aggressive monetary policy.
“Artificially lowering interest rates and printing more money will
not solve our country’s structural fiscal issues,” he said.
“To get the economy really moving, we need true fiscal reform that
includes pro-growth tax reform, a long-term plan to restore the solvency
of Social Security and Medicare and dramatically lowers the deficit,”
Corker said.
For months, Corker has joined a number of Republican lawmakers in
pressing the Fed not to do any more to stimulate the economy. They argue
that looser monetary policy takes the pressure off Congress to act on
fiscal policy.
At a hearing this summer of the Senate Banking Committee with
Bernanke, Democratic senator Chuck Schumer urged Bernanke to act as
aggressively as possible because fiscal policy is certain to remain
stalemated until at least the Nov. 6 election.
** MNI Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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