Economics

Yellen, Powell to Face Deficit, Inflation Fears at Congress

  • Republicans blasted $1.9 trillion pandemic relief as excessive
  • Biden team now mulling next package of as much as $3 trillion
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen face two days of congressional hearings over the economic policy response to covid-19. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will enter a heatedly partisan arena on Tuesday to kick off two days of congressional hearings assessing the economic policy response to the Covid-19 crisis.

Less than two weeks after President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that failed to win a single Republican vote in Congress, the hearings will feature lawmakers positioning over the impact of the package and plans for the next one. Biden’s advisers are preparing a long-term program that could be as much as $3 trillion, though no decisions have been made, people familiar with the talks said Monday.