janet l yellen : semiannual monetary policy report to the congress testimony by ms janet l yellen, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, before the committee on financial services, us house of representatives, washington dc, 15 july 2015. * * * chairman hensarling, ranking member waters, and members of the committee, i am pleased to present the federal reserve ’ s semiannual monetary policy report to the congress. in my remarks today, i will discuss the current economic situation and outlook before turning to monetary policy. current economic situation and outlook since my appearance before this committee in february, the economy has made further progress toward the federal reserve ’ s objective of maximum employment, while inflation has continued to run below the level that the federal open market committee ( fomc ) judges to be most consistent over the longer run with the federal reserve ’ s statutory mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability. in the labor market, the unemployment rate now stands at 5. 3 percent, slightly below its level at the end of last year and down more than 4 – 1 / 2 percentage points from its 10 percent peak in late 2009. meanwhile, monthly gains in nonfarm payroll employment averaged about 210, 000 over the first half of this year, somewhat less than the robust 260, 000 average seen in 2014 but still sufficient to bring the total increase in employment since its trough to more than 12 million jobs. other measures of job market health are also trending in the right direction, with noticeable declines over the past year in the number of people suffering longterm unemployment and in the numbers working part time who would prefer full - time employment. however, these measures – as well as the unemployment rate – continue to indicate that there is still some slack in labor markets. for example, too many people are not searching for a job but would likely do so if the labor market was stronger. and, although there are tentative signs that wage growth has picked up, it continues to be relatively subdued, consistent with other indications of slack. thus, while labor market conditions have improved substantially, they are, in the fomc ’ s judgment, not yet consistent with maximum employment. even as the labor market was improving, domestic spending and production softened notably during the first half of this year. real gross domestic product ( gdp ) is now estimated to have been little changed in the first quarter after having risen at an average annual rate of 3 – 1 / 2 percent over the second

randal k quarles : the importance of transparency, accountability, and fairness in regulation speech ( via webcast ) by mr randal k quarles, vice chairman for supervision of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the hoover institution, stanford, 14 october 2020. * * * i want to thank john taylor and the hoover institution for inviting me to speak today. i will start with some brief remarks about the current economic situation and monetary policy and then turn to the actions that the federal reserve has taken this year to help ensure that the banking system remains a source of strength during the recovery from the covid event, the term i use for the complex set of responses in both the private and public sectors to the outbreak of covid19. i will close with some thoughts on nonbank financial institutions and international coordination. although the covid event put the u. s. economy in a deep hole, the recovery since the economy began reopening in may has been stronger than almost any forecaster predicted back in the spring. spurred in part by record fiscal stimulus, both business and household spending appear to have bounced back significantly through the third quarter, and we have regained about half of the jobs lost in march and april. i attribute a good portion of that strength to the inherent dynamism and flexibility of the american economy. although the covid event continues to stress businesses, many businesses adjusted their operations to remain open, and applications for new businesses surged over the summer. meanwhile, better treatments and more - targeted containment measures focused on protecting the most vulnerable have resulted in falling rates of hospitalization and mortality. therefore, i am optimistic that the recovery from the covid event will continue to be robust. of course, while we ’ re doing better than expected, we still have a ways to go. the labor market remains deeply depressed, and employment is far short of the federal reserve ’ s maximum employment goal. we are also keenly aware that the harm from higher unemployment has fallen even more than usual on those low - income households least able to bear it. some businesses, particularly those in high - contact and personal - service industries, largely have been left out of the recovery. inflation is well below our 2 percent longer - run goal, and some measures of inflation expectations have ticked down. therefore, at the september federal open market committee ( fomc ) meeting, i voted in favor of the new and clearer forward guidance for monetary policy because it will provide additional support