Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, and other 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 briefly 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 labor market has continued to strengthen. Job gains have averaged 180,000 per month so far this year, down only slightly from the average in 2016 and still well above the pace we estimate would be sufficient, on average, to ... (full story)

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy should continue to expand over the next few years, allowing the central bank to keep raising interest rates, while also stressing the Fed is monitoring too-low inflation. “Considerable uncertainty always attends the economic outlook,” Yellen said Wednesday in remarks prepared for delivery to the U.S House Financial Services Committee. “There is, for example, uncertainty about when -- and how much -- inflation will respond to tightening resource utilization.” Yellen is scheduled to begin her remarks at 10 a.m., followed by a question-and-answer session with ... (full story)