Powell, Mnuchin Enter the Lion’s Den Again to Discuss Pandemic Response

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday will get another chance to grill the heads of the Federal Reserve and Treasury over the effectiveness of the nearly $3 trillion in emergency aid doled out to stem the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. central bank, with Treasury’s backing, has launched programs to improve the flow of credit as economic activity cratered and millions of jobs were lost, including its new Main Street Lending Program for mostly medium-sized businesses.

Treasury has been at the forefront of the $660 billion forgivable-loan Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) aimed at keeping small businesses afloat and their employees on payrolls.

Fed Chair 👤Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary 👤Steven Mnuchin are due to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee at 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT) to discuss how funds were disbursed to households and businesses.

Lawmakers on the Democratic-controlled panel are likely to question whether those most in need have received support.

Powell and Mnuchin testified about the coronavirus economic response before the Senate Banking Committee last month.

TO THE HAVES OR HAVE NOTS?

In prepared testimony released on Monday, Powell noted that the economic recovery had begun sooner than expected, but that output and employment are still far below pre-crisis levels, with the brunt of the pain borne by women and minorities. And a full recovery, he reiterated, is unlikely until people feel safe about going out and about.

“The path forward will also depend on the policy actions taken at all levels of government to provide relief and to support the recovery for as long as needed,” he said.