senator from georgia. senator from georgia. >> mr. president before i begin my formal remarks i want to pause to condemn the hatred and violence that took eight precious lives last night in metropolitan atlanta. i agree with georgians and with americans and people of love all across the world this unspeakable violence visited largely uponsi the community is one that causes all of us to recommit ourselves to the way of peace and accurate piece that prevents these kinds of

tragedies from happening in the first place. we pray for these families. mr. president i write here today as a proud american and as one of the newest members of the senate and all of that journey that has brought me to these hollow wood halls. with an abiding sense of reverence and gratitude for the save sacrifices of ancestors who pave the way i am a proud son of the great state of florida -- and georgia born and raised in savannah coastal town known for its cobblestone streets and squares towering oak trees, centuries-old and covered in great spanish moss, stretch from one side of the street to the other and backs with history and horticulture at is the city by the sea. i was educated at b morehouse college and i still serve in the

pulpit of the ebenezer baptist church in atlanta. the cradle of the sofa rights movement. so like those oak trees in savannah my roots go down deep and they stretch wide. the soil across georgia and scriven county. in a word i am georgia, a living example and embodiment of its history and its hope, of its pain and the brutality and possibilities. mr. president at the time of my birth charges to senators were richard b. russell and herman e. talbott. both arts segregationists and

unabashed -- of the civil rights movement. after the supreme court's landmark outlying school segregation they warned that luck would run in the streets of atlanta. sent her to talmage father eugene talmage former governor of the state famously declared the south loves the in his place. his place is at the backdoor. when once asked how he and his supporters might keep blacke people away from the polls he picked up a scrap of paper and wrote a single word on it, distills. yet there is something in the american covenant in its chartered document and its jeffersonian ideal that ends

toward freedom. and led by a. she and a patriot named king. americans of all races that up. history vindicated the movement that sought to bring us closer to our ideals to lengthen and strengthen the chords of our democracy and i now hold the seat, the senate seat where herman e. talmage sat. that's why i love america. i love america because we always have a pass to make it better to build a more perfect union. it is a place where kids like me who grew up in public housing first college graduate in my family can now stand as a united states senator. i had an older father who was

born in 1917. serving in the army during world war ii he was once asked to give up his seat to a young teenager while wearing his soldier's uniform. they said making the world safe for democracy but he was never better and by the t time i cameo law he had already seen the arc of change in our country and he maintained his faith in god and in his family and in the american promise and the passed that on to his children. my mother grew up in waycross georgia. you know where that is? way across georgia. and like a lot of black teenagers in 1950 she sent her summers picking somebody else's

tobacco in somebody else's cotton but because this is america the 822-year-old hands that used to take somebody else'son cotton went to the pols in january and picture youngest son to be a united states senator. i was in a land where possibility is warned o of democracy, a vote, a voice, a chance to help determine the direction of the country and all that destiny within it possibility born of democracy. that's why this past november and january my mom and other citizens of georgia grabbed ahold of that possibility and turned out in record numbers, 5 million, in november. 4.4 million in january, far more than ever in our state's history. turnout for a typical runoff doubled and the people of

georgia since their firstme african-american senator and first senator, my brother jon ossoff to these hollow wood halls. but then what happens? 's some politicians did not approve of the choice made by the majority of voters in a hard-fought election in which each side got a chance to make its case to the voters and rather than adjusting their agenda, rather than changing their message, they are busy trying to change the rules. .. the jim crow era. this is jim crow in new clothes.

since the january election, some 250 voter suppression bills have been introduced by state legislatures all across the legislatures all across the introduced by state legislatures all across the country from georgia to arizona from new hampshire to florida. using a big lie. voter fraud. the same big lie that led to a violent insurrection on this very capital. the day after my election. within 24 hours, we elected african-american and jewish senator. hours later, the capital was assaulted. we see in just a few precious hours the tension very much

alive in the soul of america. the question before all of us at every moment is, what will we do to push us in the right direction. and, so, politicians driven by that big lie aim to severely limit and in some cases male in anot absentee voting and they wt to make it easier to purge voters from the voting role altogether. a voting rights activist, i have seen up close just how draconian these measures can be. i hail from a state -- one saturday night in the middle of the night. we know what is happening here. some people don't want some people to vote.

a few occasions standing with our hero and my parishioner john lewis. i was his pastor, but i am clear he was my mentor. oncc more than one occasion, we boarded buses together after sunday church services as part of ourra souls to the polls program encouraging the church program and communities of faith to participate in the democratic process. now, justn a few months after congressman lewis' death, we have those in the georgia legislature who even dared to praise his name. now trying to get rid of sunday souls to the polls making it a crime for people to get on a bus together in order to vote together. i think that that is wrong.

as a matter of fact, i think that a vote is a kind of prayer. the kind of world that we desire for ourselves and for our children. our prayers are stronger when we pray to gather. to be sure, we have seen this kind of voter suppression before. part of a long and shameful history in georgia and throughout our nation. refusing to be denied, georgia citizens and citizens across our country brave the heat and the cold and the rain. some standing on mind for five hours. six hours, 10 hours. just to exercise their constitutional right to vote. young people, old people. sick people. working people. already underpaid, forced to lose wages.

to pay a kind of poll tax while standing in line to vote. and how do some politicians respond? i well, they are trying to make it a crime to give people water and a snack as they wait in line that are obviously being made longer by their draconian actions. think about that. think about that. they are the ones making the lines longer. for these draconian actions. then they want to make it a crime to bring grandma some water while she is waiting in a line. make no mistake, this is

democracy in reverse. rather than voters being able to kick the politicians, the politicians are trying to cherry pick their voters. i rise, mr. president because that sacred and noble idea, one person, one vote. being threatened right now. politicians in my home state and all across america, in their craze for power, have lost a full-fledged assault on voting rights. they are focused on winning at any cost. even the cost of the democracy itself. it is the job of each citizen to stand up for the voting rights of everyt citizen.

it is the job of this body to do all that it can to defend the viability of our democracy. that is why i am a proud cosponsor of the for the people act. which we introduced today. for the people act as a major step in the launch towards our democratic ideals making it easier, if not harder for eligible americans to vote by issuing commonsense pro-democracy reforms. like establishing national automatic voter registration. every eligible citizen. and allowing all americans to register vote on trent to vote online and on election day. including weekends and federal

elections. prohibiting states from restricting a person's ability to vote absentee or by mail and various dates from purging the voter rolls based solely on unreliable evidence like someone's voting history. something we have seen in georgia and other states in recent years. and, it would and the dominance of big money and our politics. ensure that our public servants are there serving the public. amidst the voter suppression laws and tactics, including partisan gerrymandering, the dominance of corporate interest and politicians who do their bidding, the voices of the american people have been drowned out. crowded out.

squeezed out of their own democracy. we must pass for the people so that the people might have a voice. your vote is your voice in your voice is your human dignity. we must pass the john lewis voting right advancement act. youip know, voting rights used o be a bipartisan issue. the last time the voting rights bill was reauthorized was 2000. george w. bush was president. and it passed this chamber 98- zero. then in 2013, the supreme court rejected the successful formula for supervision contained in the 1965 voting rights act. they asked congress to fix it.

that was nearly eight years ago. and the american people are still waiting. voters in states with a long history of voter discrimination and voters and many other states have been thrown to the winds. we americans have noisy and spirited debates about many things. and we should. that is what it means to live in a free country. access to the ballot ought to be nonpartisan. i submit that there should be 100 votes in this chamber. a policy that will make it easier for americans to make their voices heard in our democracy. shirley surely, there ought to be at least 60. who believe that i do the four

most powerful words uttered in a democracy are the people have spoken. therefore, we must ensure that all of the people can speak. but, if not, we must still pass voting rights. the right to vote is preservative of all other rights. it's not just another issue alongside other issues. it is salvation all. reason why any of us have the privilege of standing here in the first place. itn is a covenant that we have s the american people. above all, must be protected. let's be clear. i am not here today to spiral into the procedural argument

regarding whether the filibuster in general has merits. i am here to say that this issue is bigger than the filibuster. i stand before you saying that this issue access to voting and efforts to restrict voting is so our democracy that it is too important to be held hostage by senate rule. strict expansion of voting rights. it is a contradiction. we must protect minority rights in the senate while refusing to protect minority rights in the society. those senate rules should overrule our democracy. we must find a way to pass voting rights whether we get rid of the filibuster or not.

so, as i close, and nobody believes a preacher when i say i close -- [laughter] -- let me say, as a man of faith , i believe that democracy is the political enactment of a spiritual idea. a sacred work of all human beingse. a notion that we all have. the right to participate in the shaping of our destiny. humanity's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but humanity's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. john lewis understood that.

be in on the bridge defending it. amelia, like so many women not mentioned enough, was gassed on that same bridge. a white woman named lyle that was killed. a man murdered in his own driveway. two jews and an african-american standing up for their sacred idea of democracy also paid the ultimate price. and we, in this body, being stopped by partisan politics. short-term political gain. senate procedure. i say let's get this done no matter what. i urge my colleagues to pass these two bills.

secure our credibility as a premier voice for freedom loving people and democratic movements all over the world. and for the future of all of our children. mr. president, i yield the floor. [applause] >> book tv on c-span2 has topped nonfiction books and authors every weekend. saturday at 6:55 p.m. eastern talking about the book unmasked inside the radical plan to destroy democracy. at 9:00 p.m. eastern michael j fox talks about his life with parkinson's disease in his book no time like the future. an optimist considers mortality. sunday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern on afterwards rosa brooks details her experiences in policing as an armed reserve police officer in washington, d.c. in her book tangled up in

blue. policing the american city. she is interviewed by houston police chief. watch book tv this weekend on c-span2. ♪♪ american history tv on c-span three explain the people and events that tell the story every weekend. coming up this weekend. the civil war. a discussion on the october 1854 arrival of general john phillips sheridan. ending the confederacy resistance. sunday at 4:00 p.m. on real america, for films marking women's history month including the 1987 film crossing borders and women in the family of man from 1971. at 6:00 p.m. eastern on american artifacts a the assassination

attempts of ronald reagan. author of what jefferson red. talking about how popular culture influence as president. exploring the american story, watch american history tv this weekend on c-span three. ♪♪ >> cohost of the history chicks podcast talk about the podcast origins and growing popularity over the years governing women in u.s. history. >> women and girls are just hungry for role models. we kept hearing representation was important. that really is so true. the amount of e-mails and other messages that we get from very, very young girls and or their mothers saying either the subject that we cover or just

the very fact that they hear two women speaking in that format, how it has really affected them. >> all throughout history women have typically been the woman behind the man. what we get to do here as we get a talk about the men behind the woman but focus on her life and tell the story from her point of view. the fact that we get to do that, like becca said, i hope it inspires people to do the same and we know what does. >> the history chicks sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. you can listen to the podcast where you get your podcasts. >> this is c-span's new online store at c-span shop.org. check out the new products. with congress in session we are taking preorders for the congressional directory. every purchase helps support the

nonprofit operations. shop today at c-span shop.org. >> federal reserve chair jerome powell confirms interest rates will remain near zero in 22023. part of a news conference where chair powell updated report as nonmonetary actions taken to sustain the economy as a pandemic continues. this runs about an hour. >> good afternoon. i would like to start by noting it has been a full year since the pandemic arrived with force on our shores. looking back, it was clear that addressing a fast-moving global pandemic would be primarily the realm of healthcare providers and experts. we are grateful to them and all the essential workers for their service and sacrifice. the danger to the u.s. economy was also clear.

congress provided by far the fastest and largest response to any postwar economic downturn. offering physical support for households, businesses, healthcare providers and local governments. here at the federal reserve, we rapidly deployed our full range of tools to provide relief and stability, ensure the recovery will be as strong as possible into limit lasting damage to the economy. we are strongly committed to achieving the goal that congress has given us. maximum employment and price stability. the callout has been real and widespread. some of the very worst economic outcomes have been avoided by swift and forceful action. from congress across government and cities and towns across the country. more people held onto their jobs. more businesses kept their doors open and more incomes were saved as a result of the swift and forceful policy actions.

while we welcome these positive developments, no one should be complacent. at the fed we will continue to provide the economy the support that it needs for as long as it takes. today, the foc kept interest rates near zero and maintained our sizable assets. these measures along with our strong guidance on interest rates and on our balance sheet will ensure that monetary policy will continue to deliver powerful support to the economy until the recovery is complete. the path of the economy continues to depend significantly on the course of the virus and the measures undertaken to control and spread ongoing vaccinations offer hopes for return to more normal conditions later this year. in the meantime, continued observance of social distancing measures and wearing masks will help us reach that goal as soon as possible.

the economic recovery remains uneven and far from complete and the path ahead remains uncertain. following that moderation in the pace of the recovery that began towards the end of last year, indicators of economic activity and employment have turned up recently. the sectors of the economy most adversely affected and by greater social distancing remain weak. household spending on goods has risen notably so far this year. in contrast, household spending on services remains low. especially in services that typically require people to gather closely including travel and hospitality. the housing sector has more than fully recovered from the downturn while manufacturing and production has picked up. the overall recovery since last spring is due importantly to unprecedented fiscal and monetary policy. providing support to households, businesses and communities. it has progressed more quickly

than generally expected. forecast from participants for economic proof this year has been revised up notably. the summary of economic projections. commenting on a stronger outlook, participants noted vaccinations as well as recent fiscal policy. as with overall economic activity, conditions and the labor market have turned up recently. employment rose by 379,000 in february as a leisure and hospitality secretary recouped two thirds of the jobs lost in december or january. nonetheless, employment in this sector is more than 3 million below then at the onset of the pandemic. for the economy as a whole, 9.5 million below the pre-pandemic level. the unemployment rate remains elevated. this figure understates a shortfall in employment. particularly as participation remains notably low.

looking ahead, participants project the unemployment rate to continue to decline. the median projection is 4.5% and down to 3.5% by the end of 2023. the economic downturn has not fallen equally on all americans. the high level of joblessness has been especially severe for lower wage workers in the service sector and african-americans and hispanics. the economic dislocation has upended many lives and created uncertainty about the future. overall inflation remains below our objective. the 12 month measures of inflation will move up as a very low readings from march into april last year fall out of the calculation. we could also see upward pressure on prices.

spending rebounds quickly as he economy plans to reopen. supply belt bottlenecks responding in the near term. however, these one-time increases in prices are likely to have only transient effects on inflation. the inflation is 2.4% this year and declined to 2% before moving back up by the end of 2023. the fed's response has been guided by our mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the american people. along with promoting the financial stability of the system. as we say a longer run goals and monetary strategy, we view maximum employment as a broad-based and inclusive goal. our ability in the years ahead depends importantly on having longer-term inflation expectations while anchored at 2%.

it can be reiterated in today's policy statement, running below 2%, we will aim to inflation below so it averages 2% and longer-term expectations remain anchored at 2%. we expect to maintain monetary policy until the outcomes are achieved. with regard to interest rates, continue to expect it will be appropriate to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate until labor markets average levels consistent with maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2%. i would note that a transitory rise in inflation above 2% seems likely to occur this year. it would not meet this standard. we will continue to increase our holdings by at least $80 billion per month.

mortgage-backed securities by $40 billion a month. until substantial further progress has been made towards our maximum price stability goals. it has materially eased financial conditions and has provided substantial support to the economy. the economy is a long way from our employment inflation goals and it is likely to take some time for progress to be achieved our forward guidance along with our balance sheet guidance will ensure that the stamp of monetary policy remains accommodative. our guidance is outcome based and ties the path in the balance sheet to progress towards reaching our employment inflation goals. overall, our interest rate and balance sheet tools are providing support to the economy and will continue to do so. to conclude, we understand

actions affect communities, families and businesses across the country. everything we do is in service to our public mission. we are committed to using our full range of tools and help ensure the recovery will be as robust as possible. thank you. i look forward to your questions >> hi there. thanks for that. could you talk us through how the forecast for 2021 mapped into the definition of 2.4% inflation. i understand that is considered transitory. is it time to start talking about talking about that?

>> not yet. as you pointed out, we said we would continue asset purchases at this pace until we see substantial further progress. that is actual progress not forecasted progress. what we mean by that is pretty straightforward. labor market conditions have moved, you know, made substantial progress towards maximum employment and progress towards a 2% goal. that, obviously, includes an element of judgment. we will be carefully looking ahead. we also understand we want to provide as much advance notice as possible. when we see that we are on track to perhaps achieve substantial progress, then we will say so.

>> this shifted the dots. a lot of people shifted into 2022 it seems. >> i do not see that as all. we have a range of perspectives. we debate things, we discuss things and we always come together around a solution. the strong bulk of the committee is not showing our rate increase during this forecast period. as data improves, as the outlook improves, you would expect forecast to move up. it is probably not a surprise that someone would bring in their estimate at an appropriate time of lift off.

it does not show rate increase during this time. part of that is going to see actual data rather than just a forecast at this point. we do expect we will make faster progress on extending a leg or a hundred labor markets and inflation. we expect that to happen, but we will have to see it, first. >> thank you. victoria. >> hi there, chair powell. there's been a lot of talk about what you all are going to do. just sort of more broadly, do you think long term that leverage ratio poses problems. at a time when the reserves will remain large? do you think the changes to the

leverage ratio are the way to deal with that problem? >> victoria, we will have something to announce on that in coming days. i will not expound upon your questions. why don't you ask another question, if you would like to. >> sure. okay. i will ask about unemployment. you all have projections, but you have also really been emphasizing the fact that that is not the only thing that you all are looking at. are you are looking at ways that may be adding to how you are projecting the unemployment rate ? >> as we say in our monetary strategy, we look at indicators on our labor market. the only indicator of labor

market outcome. we look at a very broad range. participation and employment. different measures of unemployment. it is wages, it is the job flows, all of those things. they go into assessment disparities. trying to incorporate all that into the summary of economic projections would not be practical. the thing that we do include is just the unemployment rate. it does include a lot of other things that we do look at. i would not want to say that we are looking to include the dozen other things, but from time to time we do look at adding different things. it is a summary. it is one device. it will not include all of the

things that we look at. i think that you know the things that we look at. we talk about them all the time. we are not looking at actively significantly broadening that at this time. >> thank you. >> thank you. chair powell, you are forecasting a very low unemployment rate. forecasting inflation at or above 2% by 2023. no rate hike in any of this. higher inflation rates?

[inaudible] again, no rate hike expected. >> so, i guess the first thing to say is the sep is not a committee forecast. it's not something that we sit around and discuss and approve and say this represents our reaction function as a committee. it's a compilation from different people. it would be hard to say exactly why each participant did what they are going to do. all they would say about this is that, what i think is very clear guidance on lift off. labor market conditions that are consistent with maximum employment and we consider a wide range of indicators. not just see unemployment rate.

reaching 2%. inflation that is on track to run 2% for some time. the first two of those three are very much database. they have a little bit of an element of expectations and. we are very much determined to implement this guidance in a robust way. implementing our new framework. to meet these standards, we will need to see data, as i mentioned. what does this really say? we are committed to our framework and the guidance we have provided to implement that framework. we will wait until it is clearly met before considering a change in our policy rate. the state of the economy in two or three years is highly uncertain. i would not want to focus too much on the exact timing of a potential rate increase that far

into the future. that is how i would think about it. >> thank you. paul. >> thank you, chairman powell. my question is twofold. how high are you comfortable letting inflation rise? there is some ambiguity in your new target, as you mentioned, expectations driven. do you think that that ambiguity may cost lower than what the fed actually has by causing financial conditions? is that a concern? >> we said we like to see inflation run moderately above 2% for some time. the temptation to try to quantify that.

part of that is just talking about inflation is one thing. actually having inflation run above 2% is a real thing. we have talked about 2% as a goal. we have not achieved it. we would really like to get inflation moderately above 2%. i do not want to be too specific about what that means because i think it is hard to do that. when we are actually above 2%, we can do that. the fundamental change in our framework is that we, we are not going to act preemptively based on forecast, for the most part. we will wait to see actual data. i think it will take people time to adjust to that. the only way that we can really build the credibility of that is by doing it.

>> thank you. >> high chair powell. this is matthew. widespread presumption at this point that the u.s. will reach herd immunity at sometime this year. the path of the economy will be determined by the course of the virus. i'm curious based on the projections that you released, will still be above estimates of maximum employment through the end of next year and sometime in 22023. do you think policymakers need to be doing more here for herd immunity and full employment timelines, if you well? thank you. >> i will really leave that question to the experts. we don't control that. we are not responsible for defining it.

we will leave that whole discussion to the experts. what we are focused on is the part that we control. the support that we provide to the economy. we provided very clear guidance. in the case of asset purchases, at their current level until we make substantial further progress. there is an element of judgment there. it will supply communication well in advance of actually tapering. we just went through the criteria for creating interest rates. they are very specific. we are very much but committed to having them fulfilled. the path of the virus continues to be very important. we have these new strands. we are not actually done yet. we are clearly on a good path with cases coming down, as i

mentioned. we are not done and i would hate to see us take our eye off the ball before were done. >> how do you see sort of the disconnect in terms of an economy that is supposed to be widely reopened this year, but full employment taking longer to achieve. factors related to the virus will still be with us. as out how to interpret that? >> there will still be some social distancing. for example, going into spaces that involve close contact with others. some will do that right away and others will hold back. i think there will be some of that. there are 10 million people and the range of 10 million people that need to get back to work.

it will take some time for that to happen. it can happen more quickly because it involves the reopening of a sector of the economy. instead of waiting for it to produce job demand for workers. this could be a different sort of a process and it could be quicker. we don't know that. it's a lot of people that need to get back to work and it will not happen overnight. it is going to take some time no matter how wealthy economy performs. unemployment will take quite a time to go down and so will participation. that is all i can say. the faster the better. realistically, given the numbers , it will take some time. >> thank you. steve. >> mr. chairman, thank you. a three-part or care. all related.

would you comment on the current level of the 10 year yield. whether they would have a negative effect on the economy. a level that would give you concern. concern about what has happened to yields in their countries. can you give us your general idea or orientation towards the idea of coming into the market and affecting a particular tenor of the bond market. do you like that idea? is it something you think is at the bottom of the toolbox? >> we monitor a broad range of financial conditions. a long way from our goals. they do remain accommodative to support the achievements of those goals. if you look at various indexes, they variously do show to be highly accommodative. that is how we look at it.

i went out, as i have said, i would be concerned by disorderly and by persistent market of threatening our goals. we think the stance of monetary policy remains appropriate. our guidance and providing strong support for the economy. we are committed to maintaining that stance until the job as well and truly done. >> could you give us an idea of how you sort of feel about that to. coming into a particular part of the market. is that something you feel to be the top of your toolbox? >> the tools we have are the tools we have. the stance we have today we believe is appropriate. the asset purchases, treasuries and mortgage back securities, we

think that that is the right place for our asset purchases. we can change it in a number of different dimensions. for now we think it is appropriate. >> thank you. >> thank you very much for taking my questions. he has spoken about the pandemic on black americans, asian americans and other groups in the labor market. i'm curious if you can speak to specific indicators for groups that have consistently higher rates of unemployment compared to other americans. describe vaccines as a key to economic recovery? lower vaccination rates in communities of color and what barriers do you think exist there? thank you very much.

>> which measures? we do monitor and communicate very regularly about different labor market, disparities in the labor market. the african-american unemployment rate is substantially elevated. we look at those and we see those. slack in the labor market. it is sad to see. those had really come down to record lows. as recently as a year ago. what happens in a downturn as they move up at twice the speed of white unemployment. we monitor those things. we will look at those as a slack in the labor market and hope that there is progress there. in this particular downturn was just a direct hit on a part of

the economy that employs many minorities and lower paid workers. public facing workers, many cases don't have financial assets, they are not tremendously paid, they may have other jobs and things like that. this was a direct hit on the economy. we like to see those people continue to get support as the economy recovers which it is very much doing now. that really is not anything that we have within our policy toolkit. it is true. the data we have suggested, there are significant disparities between different ethnics groups.

>> thank you. >> i was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the fiscal policy support that has come down the line affecting the economy in the longer term. talking about the potential for scarring and how that may lay on our future prospects. back in the labor market more quickly. does that improve our chances? >> i do think that fiscal policy, overall, will have really helped us to avoid much of the scarring that we were very, very concerned about at the beginning. i think that that is just the size and the speed at which congress has delivered, with the cares act and since then he's going to wind up very much accelerating their return to

full employment. it will make a huge difference in people's lives already. i mentioned in my opening remarks, the recovery has been faster than we expected. part of it is that it has been very hard to predict. part of it is just the strength of the fiscal response which will look good over the years. longer-term, you know, the first part of it is about avoiding scarring. we have probably avoided the worst cases there. we will keep at it with our policies, of course, to do whatever we can to make sure that continues. longer-term, though, what it takes to drive productive capacity per capita or per hour worked to raise living standards over time is an investment. investments in people skills and aptitudes. taking a lot of investment to

support a more productive economy and raise living standards. the principal focus with these measures, our measures, certainly, we don't have those tools, but congress has been replacing lost income and beginning to support people as the economy returns to normal. a longer term focus would be healthy on a longer-term front. >> thank you, chair powell. i wanted to ask a question about the eurozone. while the outlook has much approved, it has been much less encouraging due to slower vaccination rollout and renewed lockdown and restrictions. how worried are you about transatlantic and the possibility that trouble in the eurozone could drag down the

u.s. recovery as it did in a way of the aftermath of the financial crisis. >> the pace of the recovery, we are having diverging recoveries here, as we did after the last crisis. the recovery is leading the global recovery. we conduct policy, of course, here. our focus is on, our objectives are domestic ones. price stability here in the united states. we monitor it abroad. it will affect our outcomes. i think u.s. demand, very strong u.s. demand, as the economy improves, it will support global activity as well.

that will be imports. when the u.s. economy is strong, that strength tends to support global activity as well. that is one thing. i don't worry, in the near term. i would love to see the vaccine going more smoothly, but i do not worry too much about us in the near term because we are on a very good track. now, vaccination going quickly. cases coming down. i think that we are in a good place. it is all ahead of us. it should get stronger fairly quickly here. >> thank you. >> hi. thank you so much for taking our questions. the plan on extending the restrictions on bank dividends.

purchases currently in place. if you are considering at all the scenario analysis that were in place last year. would you consider doing something like that again? >> we have not made a decision on that yet. i will foreshadow it here today. we are going to continue our data driven approach. they are preserving capital through 2028 the banks actually increased their level of capital and their level of reserves. the stress test showed that banks were strong and well-capitalized. right in the middle of our 2021 stress test. we will release those results before the end of june.

that layers a very significant additional stress. with the unemployment rate going to 11% in stock prices falling more than 50%. the results of the stress test in the decision on distributions, all of that, it is to come fairly soon. >> thank you. >> thank you. you laid out the standards to lift off. june of 2020 you said you are not even thinking about raising rates. seven members saw lift off in 2023. how much debate and how can you characterize that conservation? >> well, you know, it all depends. we have set off very clear criteria for lift off.

labor market conditions consistent with the estimate of maximum unemployment. it means a much broader set of criteria. 2% and not on a transitory basis , moderately, to run moderately above 2%. everyone on the committee agrees to that. it comes down to what is your projected for the economy. people will have a range of assessments for how good the economy will be. i would say we are in a relatively highly uncertain situation. if you look at the uncertainty, people want to say uncertainty about this is higher than before you are going to have different perspectives from committee participants about how fast growth will be. how fast inflation will move up.

those things are going to dictate where people write down an estimate of lift off. this will be the decision to lift off now. we made that decision then. it is an estimate based on assumptions about growth. it is meant to be a tool to generally show the public how our objective function works. how we think about our future. pinning down a time we might or might not lift off. we will not make that decision for some time. it will be very different than the one we think it will be. sometimes i have to be sure to point out that they are not a committee forecast. you know this. they are not a committee forecast. it is just compiling these projections really. we think it is a useful purpose. it is not meant to be a promisor prediction.

that will be very much dependent on economic outcomes which are highly uncertain. >> thank you. >> i wanted to elaborate a little bit on your commentary. it sounds like you see a case for needing even more investment $1.9 trillion in spending. do you still see the country in a place where it would not be a concern? >> what congress should spend money on or when. i was answering the question. how do we assure lack of damage to scarring or lack of damage to the capacity.

i wanted to make a longer run point. working on the proactivity over longer periods. that comes down to a number of things. an investment in people. and their skills. education, aptitude. i am not in any way suggesting. it is just not our job. that is what fiscal policy can do that really monetary policy cannot do. and best in the future productive capacity of the economy. those things are tools that congress has. i was not making a comment at all on the current fiscal setting. >> i just want to give an updated view on your view on

these risks and whether or not you see any pockets of excess and financial markets that concern you. specifically to that area of the market or in terms of the threat that could be proposed to the overall economy. >> as you know, financial stability for us as a framework. it is not one thing. it's not a particular market or particular asset or anything. we report on it semiannually. the board gets a report on it quarterly. we monitor every day. it has four pillars. asset valuations, debt owed by businesses and households. funding risk and leverage among financial institutions. i will just quickly touch on them. if you look at asset valuations, by some measures, some are elevated compared to history. i think that that is clear.

in terms of households and businesses, this is in very good shape by historical standards. leverage in the household sector has been gradually moving down and down and down. since the financial crisis. there were some negative effects on that. people lost their jobs and that sort of thing. the damage has not been as bad. businesses by the same token had a high debt load coming in. many said their revenues decline they have done so much financing and there's a lot of cash on their balance sheet. nothing in those two sectors really jumps out as troubling. .... ....