Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, June 17, 2011 - Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus announced today that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will appear before the Committee on July 13 to deliver the semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.  

Chairman Bachus said, “Chairman Bernanke’s report comes at a critical time as the state of our economy remains deeply troubling.  Washington’s excessive spending and regulating is causing massive uncertainty for employers and their customers alike.  Jobs are not being created at a fast enough pace to keep up with the combination of layoffs and people entering the job market for the first time.  Unemployment is up, the debt is up, growth is down and so are home prices.  Consumer confidence has plunged.  Some in Washington refuse to acknowledge these problems by proclaiming they have been able to ‘turn this economy around.’ But the truth is our rate of economic growth over the past two years is the worst since the Great Depression.”

In one of the Committee’s most important oversight roles, the Federal Reserve reports to the Committee twice a year on the conduct of monetary policy and the state of the economy.  The Federal Reserve, created in 1913, is primarily responsible for formulating the nation’s monetary policy in order maintain economic and price stability, as well as maximum employment. 

The hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 13 at 10 a.m. in room 2128 Rayburn.

NOTE:  For this hearing, media seats will be reserved based only on requests received from news organizations credentialed by the House media galleries. Each credentialed news organization is limited to one seat. To request a seat click here.