Reply #6: Facing pressure, Bernanke to address lawmakers

[ozymandius]

...Now, lawmakers want to know what he can, or will, do to ease the jobs crisis and make sure the economic recovery lasts. Many will be looking, too, for any clues about when the Fed might start to tighten credit.

Bernanke, who will deliver his twice-a-year economic report to Congress, will be under more pressure than usual. It's an election year for lawmakers, whose constituents face near-double-digit unemployment, record-high home foreclosures and tough-to-get credit, especially for small businesses. ...

Bernanke will probably have to reverse course and start tightening credit for millions of Americans even when unemployment is still high. The timing of that move will be the next big challenge for the Fed. Boosting rates too soon could derail the recovery. But waiting too long could trigger inflation and feed a speculative asset bubble. That, too, could threaten the economy, along with Americans' pocketbooks and nest eggs. ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bernanke