statement by jerome h. powell chair board of governors of the federal reserve system before the select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis u. s. house of representatives june 22, 2021 chairman clyburn, ranking member scalise, and other members of the select subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to update you on our ongoing measures to address the hardship wrought by the pandemic. since we last met, the economy has shown sustained improvement. widespread vaccinations have joined unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy actions in providing strong support to the recovery. indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen, and real gdp this year appears to be on track to post its fastest rate of increase in decades. much of this rapid growth reflects the continued bounce back in activity from depressed levels. the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic remain weak, but have shown improvement. household spending is rising at a rapid pace, boosted by the ongoing reopening of the economy, fiscal support, and accommodative financial conditions. the housing sector is strong, and business investment is increasing at a solid pace. in some industries, nearterm supply constraints are restraining activity. as with overall economic activity, conditions in the labor market have continued to improve, although the pace has been uneven. the unemployment rate remained elevated in may at 5. 8 percent, and this figure understates the shortfall in employment, particularly as participation in the labor market has not moved up from the low rates that have prevailed for most of the past year. job gains should pick up in coming months as vaccinations rise, easing some of the pandemic - related factors currently weighing them down. the economic downturn has not fallen equally on all americans, and those least able to shoulder the burden have been the hardest hit. in particular, despite progress, joblessness continues to fall disproportionately on lower - wage workers in the service sector and on african americans and hispanics. the fed pursues monetary policy aimed at fostering a strong, stable economy that can improve economic outcomes for all americans. those who have historically been left behind stand the best chance of prospering in a strong economy with plentiful job opportunities. and our economy will be stronger and perform better when everyone can contribute to, and share in, the benefits of prosperity. inflation has increased notably in recent months. this reflects, in part, the very low readings from early in the pandemic falling

alan greenspan : federal reserve board's semiannual monetary policy report to the congress testimony of mr alan greenspan, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, before the committee on financial services, us house of representatives, 27 february 2002. * * * since july, when i last reported to you on the conduct of monetary policy, the u. s. economy has gone through a period of considerable strain, with output contracting for a time and unemployment rising. we in the federal reserve system acted vigorously to adjust monetary policy in an endeavor both to limit the extent of the downturn and to hasten its completion. despite the disruptions engendered by the terrorist attacks of september 11, the typical dynamics of the business cycle have re - emerged and are prompting a firming in economic activity. an array of influences unique to this business cycle, however, seems likely to moderate the speed of the anticipated recovery. at the time of our last report, the economy was weakening. many firms were responding to the realization that significant overcapacity had developed. the demand for capital goods had dropped sharply, and inventories were uncomfortably high in many industries. in response, businesses slashed production, and the resulting declines in incomes amplified the cyclical downturn. real gross domestic product did not grow in the second quarter and contracted in the third. a coincident deceleration in activity among the world economies was evident over the past year, owing, at least in part, to the retrenchment in the high - technology sector and the global reach of the capital markets in which the firms in that sector are valued and funded. however, before the terrorist attacks, it was far from obvious that this concurrent weakness was becoming self - reinforcing. indeed, immediately prior to september 11, some sectors exhibited tentative signs of stabilization, contributing to a hope that the worst of the previous cumulative weakness in world economic activity was nearing an end. that hope was decisively dashed by the tragic events of early september. adding to the intense forces weighing on asset prices and economic activity before september 11 were new sources of uncertainty that began to press down on global demand for goods and services. economies almost everywhere weakened further, a cause for increasing uneasiness. the simultaneous further slowing in activity raised concerns that a self - reinforcing cycle of contraction, fed by perceptions of greater economic risk, could develop. such an event, though rare, would not be unprecedented in business - cycle history.