Washington (Reuters) – Despite the ongoing recovery from the Corona crisis, the US economy continues to rely on help from the Fed and, above all, from politics, according to the central bank.
Influential Federal Reserve Director Lael Brainard warned the US Congress on Wednesday that a lack of further stimulus aid posed the greatest risk to the economic outlook. The central bank is still ready to do its part for the further recovery of the economy by means of a sustainable economic stimulus policy. And for as long as necessary.
Together with politicians, it must be possible to put the upswing on a broader basis. So far it has tended to bypass many households and smaller companies. If government economic aid were to be cut too early, there was even a risk that recessionary tendencies would solidify.
The struggle for an economic stimulus package between Republicans and Democrats was recently caught in the wake of the presidential election campaign. But White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox Business on Wednesday that the government and House Democrats were aiming to reach an agreement within the next 48 hours.
Prior to that, Nancy Pelosi, President of the US House of Representatives, was optimistic about the chances of an agreement. After parliament had already approved measures worth more than three trillion dollars to combat the consequences of the corona pandemic, a fifth aid package is now under way.