Powell: Fed aims to avoid recession but says it's possible

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee hearing, March 3, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Federal Reserve is poised this week to begin unleashing its most drastic steps in three decades to attack inflation by making it costlier to borrow — for a car, a home, a business deal, a credit card purchase — all of which will compound Americans' financial strains and likely weaken the economy. (Tom Williams, Pool via AP)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sought Wednesday to reassure the public that the Fed will raise interest rates high and fast enough to quell inflation, without tightening credit so much as to throttle the economy and cause a recession.

Testifying to the Senate Banking Committee, Powell faced skeptical questions from members of both parties about the Fed’s ability to tame inflation, which has surged to the top of Americans’ concerns as congressional elections near.

Democrats wondered whether the Fed’s accelerated rate hikes will succeed in curbing inflation or might instead just tip the economy into a downturn. Several Republicans charged that the Powell Fed had moved too slowly to begin raising rates and now must speed up its hikes.