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 ... (full story)