Powell and Mnuchin Set to Get Grilled on Need for More Stimulus
- Fed, Treasury chiefs to testify Tuesday at Congress hearing
- Focus likely to fall on fiscal measures with time running out
Jerome Powell, left, and Steven Mnuchin during the House Committee on Financial Services hearing on Oversight of the Treasury Department and Fed Reserve Pandemic response, on June 30.
Photographer: Bill O'Leary/Getty Images
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to be grilled by lawmakers Tuesday on the need for more stimulus to shore up the U.S. economy’s recovery from the coronavirus slump.
The focus of the House Financial Services Committee hearing will likely fall on fiscal policy, with time running short for Congress to agree on another round of spending measures before it shuts down ahead of November elections.
The $2 trillion bill passed in March has helped production and employment rebound after the steepest drops on record. Its impact is now fading, and lawmakers have been deadlocked for weeks over how much more cash to pump in. Investors are losing faith that a deal will get done this year, one reason why the S&P 500 is currently headed for its first monthly drop since March.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in recent days has said that the failure to pass any additional fiscal measures would likely lead them to downgrade economic growth estimates, but also that the November presidential election could change the outlook on Fed action.