05.08.14

Sessions Comments On Yellen Testimony Before The Budget Committee

“Not only did the Fed not avert the 2007 crisis, but its policies helped to foster it. And while the big firms were bailed out and the big spenders in Washington quickly frittered away a trillion dollars of borrowed stimulus, the American worker soldiered on in a weak economy. We can’t pump our way to prosperity...”

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today in response to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony this morning:

“Some would have us believe that a thriving workforce is just around the corner if we only keep spending and borrowing, keep interest rates low, and keep the stimulus pumping. Dr. Yellen seemed to suggest that things aren’t as bad as they seem, and that the benefits of this artificial stimulus have broadly benefited the American worker. But what is the reality? In 2011, the Fed predicted that growth in 2013 would be twice what it actually turned out to be. Indeed, their growth projections have consistently been too high. Since 2009—despite a record accumulation of debt, interest rates near zero, and a rapidly expanding Fed balance sheet—median household incomes have declined by a shocking $2,300. Since 2007, the population has grown by 15 million but half a million fewer people are employed.

American workers feel and sense, correctly, that something isn’t right: companies are not hiring them and their wages have fallen. They see the stock market rise and Washington spending soar, but their incomes shrink and their jobs prospects stall.

Not only did the Fed not avert the 2007 crisis, but its policies helped to foster it. And while the big firms were bailed out and the big spenders in Washington quickly frittered away a trillion dollars of borrowed stimulus, the American worker soldiered on in a weak economy. We can’t pump our way to prosperity—growth must be built on sound policies. We are not going to win the economic race by sinking our nation into permanent debt.

In order to succeed, we must put the American worker back to work. We need an ambitious plan to produce more American energy, keeping jobs and wealth right here in the U.S.; we need to make clear to our trading partners that we will defend U.S. workers from illicit trade practices; we need to outcompete other nations by reducing the tax and regulatory burden weighing down American industry and forcing companies to close their doors; we need an immigration policy that ensures open jobs go to unemployed American workers, not workers from abroad; we need to make government leaner, confronting every needless expenditure; and we need to restore stability and confidence in our future with an honest, balanced budget.”