dr. bernanke for being here. i want to see it a little on the subject matter of debt ceiling and then i want to move into state pension reform in state debt and deficit and how that may impact decisions congress has to make. earlier during the hearing someone had referred to a debt ceiling vote as quote routine. i happened to be one of people who believe that's part of the promise that we having. this notion that we're going to continue as the federal government to borrow beyond our means i think as a direct impact to the global markets, to our marketeer and to consumers and employers and small business owners that are trying to have predictability are the ones are going to really help us emerge stronger as a nation and as an economy. i also is concerned about some of the comments you have made our phrases you have used. some i appreciated and agree with, and some of that concern me. one was unwind some of the semester i agree with it. i think what you're saying is that we should be stopping the use of stimulus a

dr. bernanke for being here. i want to see it a little on the subject matter of debt ceiling and then i want to move into state pension reform in state debt and deficit and how that may impact decisions congress has to make. earlier during the hearing someone had referred to a debt ceiling vote as quote routine. i happened to be one of people who believe that's part of the promise that we having. this notion that we're going to continue as the federal government to borrow beyond our means i think as a direct impact to the global markets, to our marketeer and to consumers and employers and small business owners that are trying to have predictability are the ones are going to really help us emerge stronger as a nation and as an economy. i also is concerned about some of the comments you have made our phrases you have used. some i appreciated and agree with, and some of that concern me. one was unwind some of the semester i agree with it. i think what you're saying is that we should be stopping the use of stimulus a

dr. bernanke, thank you for your expertise that you lend it to this economic recovery. when you came before this committee last june, he predicted that the economic growth rate would rise to an annual rate of just over 3%. that is for the last month of 2010. it could increase over the course of 2011. that is nearly a double-digit turnaround from the 6% downturn that we witnessed under the end of president bush's administration. has your forecast, in your opinion, proven accurate as for how you calculate it and its bottom-line results? >> we were disappointed over last summer as the economy slow down. that is why in august we began to take the steps towards the second round of so-called quantitative easing. since we have done that, the markets have strengthened again. the outlook has improved. the numbers you gave, the fourth quarter was 3.2%. looking for to 2011, most forecasters think 3.2% is about right. these things are very uncertain. that seems to be about where we were predicting. >> we hear on the hill here in washington and certainly within the microcosm of the

dr. bernanke on tuesday to admit that it could be done and that if we could do it in such a fashion thatthe functioning of the treasury he would actually support it to be used as a way to get fiscal restraint in this country. [applause] >> it was very encouraging. the answer is yes, it's what we came here to do. >> i also want to say one other thing, which is what congressman mulvaney touched on, and some of the elected officials have said to you all. and to the people watching on tv, what's so important and how we fought in marks, what's so important to hear from you here in washington. so i invite everybody if you're sitting in the audience and you have a computer, don't you endingspending.com, our website, sign up, endingspending.com. andrew, what's your website? >> our website is desperately poor information there. >> and ryan? >> contract with america.com. >> that's so important you sign up and make your voices heard. next question. >> mike horner, air force, retired. [applause] >> i don't understand the word balance i guess. balanced to me means you match income coming in with spen

dr. bernanke. one of the mandates for the fed is to keep unemployment low.there's some folks in town who think that that should no longer be the role of the fed. how would you have negotiated this crisis and where would we be today if he did not have that mandate? >> well, our policies would have probably been somewhat similar because from both sides, we had both high unemployment and low inflation so b