Bernanke Says U.S. Needs to Make 'Difficult Choices' on Deficit

Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, said Wednesday, April 14, that despite a mild recovery, America had to make “difficult choices” to control the deficit and warned that “postponing them will only make them more difficult.”

Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Bernanke said that drawing up a reasonable plan now for holding down deficits would keep interest rates low over the long term.

Bernanke said in written testimony, “Although sizable deficits are unavoidable in the near term, maintaining the confidence of the public and financial markets requires that policy makers move decisively to set the federal budget on a trajectory toward sustainable fiscal balance.”