Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the fragile economy still needs government stimulus spending to strengthen the recovery and help reduce unemployment.
Bernanke tells lawmakers that Congress should come up with a credible plan to reduce the government's record-high budget deficits in the long run. But he says they shouldn't move to slash spending or boost taxes, or undertake some combination of both right now.
He says: "I believe we should maintain our stimulus in the short term."
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