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If Congress is worried about the health of some American businesses, it’s up to lawmakers to provide support directly, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in remarks released Monday.
The Fed can only make loans, which isn’t much of a life preserver for some companies, Powell said, in prepared remarks released ahead of a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday.
For some companies, “a loan that could be difficult to repay might not be the answer. In these cases, direct fiscal support may be needed,” Powell said.
Prospects that Congress will pass another rescue package have faded in recent weeks, and became even more remote after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last Friday.
With Republicans and Democrats unwilling to compromise, members of Congress have been pressing the Fed to do more.
The Fed has set up an emergency lending plan, the Main Street Lending Program, designed to help small- and medium-sized businesses. But so far at least the program hasn’t attracted many borrowers.
Some analysts think focusing on the small amount lent so far is misplaced. They think the Fed lending program could be helpful later this year if more companies start to face possible bankruptcy.
The Fed has been trying to tweak the terms of Main Street to make it more flexible but major changes must come from lawmakers and Treasury.
In his testimony, Powell was upbeat about the outlook.
He said many indicators have shown “marked improvement.”
“In the labor market, roughly half of the 22 million payroll jobs that were lost in March and April have been regained as people return to work,” Powell said.
He assured lawmakers that the economy “will eventually recover from this difficult period.”
