Bernanke warns Congress against slowing economy with deep spending cuts

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has again warned Congress that it should not cut spending sharply while the economy remains weak. Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee that lawmakers face a delicate budgetary challenge and should not make spending cuts that could impede the recovery. However, he also says Congress must eventually cut spending more deeply than the $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts being sought by a special panel. Bernanke says that the economy is growing more slowly than the Federal Reserve expected and that the biggest factor depressing consumer confidence is poor job growth. His warning to Congress not to pursue deep spending cuts in the short run comes at a time of sharp disagreement within the Fed and Congress about how to invigorate the economy. In a speech in Cleveland last week, Bernanke called long-term unemployment a “national crisis” and said Congress should take further steps to address it. Bernanke notes about 45% of the unemployed have been out of work for at least six months—a level previously unseen in the six decades since World War II. Read more about Bernanke’s message to Congress from The Associated Press here.