jerome h powell : semiannual monetary policy report to the congress testimony by mr jerome h powell, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, before the committee on financial services, us house of representatives, washington dc, 6 march 2024. * * * chairman mchenry, ranking member waters, and other members of the committee, i appreciate the opportunity to present the federal reserve's semiannual monetary policy report. the federal reserve remains squarely focused on our dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the american people. the economy has made considerable progress toward these objectives over the past year. while inflation remains above the federal open market committee's ( fomc ) objective of 2 percent, it has eased substantially, and the slowing in inflation has occurred without a significant increase in unemployment. as labor market tightness has eased and progress on inflation has continued, the risks to achieving our employment and inflation goals have been moving into better balance. even so, the committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks and is acutely aware that high inflation imposes significant hardship, especially on those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials, like food, housing, and transportation. the fomc is strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2 percent objective. restoring price stability is essential to achieve a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all. i will review the current economic situation before turning to monetary policy. current economic situation and outlook economic activity expanded at a strong pace over the past year. for 2023 as a whole, gross domestic product increased 3. 1 percent, bolstered by solid consumer demand and improving supply conditions. activity in the housing sector was subdued over the past year, largely reflecting high mortgage rates. high interest rates also appear to have been weighing on business fixed investment. the labor market remains relatively tight, but supply and demand conditions have continued to come into better balance. since the middle of last year, payroll job gains have averaged 239, 000 jobs per month, and the unemployment rate has remained near historical lows, at 3. 7 percent. strong job creation has been accompanied by an increase in the supply of workers, particularly among individuals aged 25 to 54, and a continued strong pace of immigration. job vacancies have declined, and nominal wage growth has been easing. although the jobs - to - workers gap has narrowed, labor demand 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches still exceeds the supply of available workers

elizabeth a duke : opening remarks at the public hearing on potential revisions to the home mortgage disclosure act opening remarks by ms elizabeth a duke, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the public hearing on potential revisions to the home mortgage disclosure act, atlanta, 15 july 2010. * * * on behalf of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, i ’ d like to welcome the participants to today ’ s hearing. i ’ d also like to express my appreciation to president lockhart and our colleagues at the federal reserve bank of atlanta for hosting us today. i am pleased to be here at the first in a series of public hearings regarding changes to the home mortgage disclosure act ( hmda ). the board has scheduled these hearings to assess the adequacy of the current mortgage data requirements and examine the need to collect additional data from lenders. i would point out that since we began planning these hearings, changes to the hmda data requirements have been included in the regulatory reform bill currently being considered by the congress. we look forward to hearing your comments regarding the implementation of the changes specified in that legislation, as well as changes you might recommend based on your experience. the proposed legislation also would transfer authority for hmda rulemaking from the board of governors to the new consumer financial protection bureau ( cfpb ). all information gleaned from these hearings will inform our rulewriting work. when rulemaking authority transfers to the cfpb, be assured that we will hand over the most current thinking about changes to regulation c. over the course of four public hearings, held throughout the country, we will hear from key players in the home mortgage market : lenders and other market participants, academics and researchers, consumer advocacy and community development organizations, data experts, regulators, and other public officials. although they play different roles, all share a common goal : to ensure that the mortgage market is responsible, transparent, efficient, and serves the needs of consumers and market participants alike. clearly, the recent mortgage crisis has highlighted the potential ramifications of a mortgage market that is not functioning well. data do not create the market, but they do help us understand what is happening in the market. hmda data cannot solve all market problems, but the time is ripe for reviewing and revising the data elements, standards, and reporting formats. with the benefit of hindsight, we can now answer the question : do policymakers have adequate and reliable data sufficient to assess market