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 b post: *POWELL: LIKELY APPROPRIATE TO CUT RATES AT SOME POINT THIS YEAR *POWELL REITERATES FED NEEDS MORE CONFIDENCE ON INFLATION TO CUT post: Fed Chair Jay Powell’s testimony to Congress 1) He characterizes last year’s slowdown in core inflation as “notable” and “widespread” 2) The forward guidance around rate cuts is little changed https://t.co/BxIRu0KPkW pic.twitter.com/61huWjQNSJ post: Fed’s Powell: Risks to Both Cutting Rates Too Early and Too Fast as Well as Too Late or Too Little post: FED'S POWELL: WHILE INFLATION STILL ABOVE 2%, IT HAS EASED SUBSTANTIALLY || FED'S POWELL: ECONOMY HAS MADE CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS OVER PAST YEAR ON DUAL MANDATE