odds of sustained robust growth are good, although, as always, risks remain. the congress can help foster sustainable expansion by taking steps to reduce federal budget deficits and thus contribute to national saving and by continuing to pursue opportunities to open markets and promote trade. for our part, the federal reserve intends to use its monetary tools to promote our goals of economic growth and maximum employment of our resources in an environment of effective price stability.

alan greenspan : federal reserve boarda€™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, washington, 11 february 2004. * * * mr. chairman and members of the committee, i am pleased to be here today to present the federal reserve's monetary policy report to the congress. when i testified before this committee in july, i reported that conditions had become a good deal more supportive of economic expansion over the previous few months. a notable reduction in geopolitical concerns, strengthening confidence in economic prospects, and an improvement in financial conditions boded well for spending and production over the second half of the year. still, convincing signs of a sustained acceleration in activity were not yet in evidence. since then, the picture has brightened. the gross domestic product expanded vigorously over the second half of 2003 while productivity surged, prices remained stable, and financial conditions improved further. overall, the economy has made impressive gains in output and real incomes ; however, progress in creating jobs has been limited. looking forward, the prospects are good for sustained expansion of the u. s. economy. the household sector's financial condition is stronger, and the business sector has made substantial strides in bolstering balance sheets. narrowing credit risk spreads and a considerable rally in equity prices have reduced financing costs and increased household wealth, which should provide substantial support for spending by businesses and households. with short - term real interest rates close to zero, monetary policy remains highly accommodative. and it appears that the impetus from fiscal policy will stay expansionary, on net, through this year. these circumstances all should spur the expansion of aggregate demand in 2004. at the same time, increases in efficiency and a significant level of underutilized resources should help keep a lid on inflation. in retrospect, last year appears to have marked a transition from an extended period of subpar economic performance to one of more vigorous expansion. once again, household spending was the mainstay, with real personal consumption spending increasing nearly 4 percent and real outlays on residential structures rising about 10 percent. last year's reductions in personal income tax rates and the advance of rebates to those households that were eligible for the expanded child tax credit boosted the growth of real disposable personal income. the very low level of interest rates also encouraged household spending through