Investing.com -- Federal Reserve nominees Philip Jefferson and Governor Lisa D. Cook said in prepared remarks Tuesday that returning inflation to the Fed's 2% target would be important to keep the economic expansion intact.
Philip Jefferson - nominated to be the Vice Chair - and Dr. Lisa Cook - nominated for a full term - are current Governors and set for confirmation hearings Wednesday before the Senate Banking Committee.
In his prepared note, Jefferson said that while "inflation has started to abate," he remained focused on returning it to the Fed's 2% target, adding that the "U.S. banking system is sound and resilient," despite the recent stress seen in the spring.
Cook echoed the remarks from Jefferson, warning that "elevated inflation is a grave threat to sustaining the expansion of the American economy." It will be essential, Cook added, for the FOMC to act as needed to bring inflation back to the two-percent inflation target.
The most recent measure of the core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, was at 4.7% in May, well above the 2% target.
The prepared testimonies arrived less than a week after the Fed kept rates steady, but hiked its rate-hike outlook, forecasting two hikes for 2023.
Fed chairman Jerome Powell will also appear on Capitol Hill this week to deliver his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.