Federal Reserve Chairman Warsh gave his first congressional testimony, emphasizing the central bank’s independence
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh attended hearings of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday to give testimony on the semi-annual monetary policy report. This is his first formal testimony to Congress since taking over as chairman of the Federal Reserve in June this year. The core theme revolves around fighting inflation and defending the independence of the Federal Reserve. At the hearing, Wash made a clear commitment to Swelling "becomes past tense". He pointed out that high inflation has caused excessive burdens on American families and businesses. "This is a tax levied on American people and businesses, and we plan to eliminate this tax." Warsh stressed that the Fed has "no tolerance for continued high inflation" and is determined to restore price stability. Data show that the U.S. consumer price index fell back to 3.5% year-on-year in June, cooling down from 4.2% in May, but inflation is still higher than the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Warsh is resolute in defending the Fed's independence. Responding to questions from lawmakers about whether he would be affected by pressure from the White House, Warsh responded: "We are an independent central bank. They have chosen an independent person to do an independent job, and that is what I plan to do." He added: "There is undoubtedly a lot of politics outside the four walls of the Fed; but within the central bank, my goal is to eliminate politics." The hearing comes at a sensitive time when the Fed's independence is under heightened scrutiny. Just a few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the President's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook in a 5-4 decision in the Trump v. Cook case, clearly affirming the Federal Reserve's unique status and the principle of independence that its leadership cannot be removed at will. After taking office, Warsh has quickly launched five working groups to examine the Fed's communication strategy, balance sheet, data sources, productivity and employment, and inflation framework. He admitted that he still "carries the scars of the 2008 crisis" and said that the Fed's balance sheet "should be carefully examined in terms of both size and maturity." Open a futures account on Sina's cooperative platform, safe, fast and guaranteed