What's New

First, as this expansion continues into its 11th year — the longest in U.S. history — economic conditions are generally good. Second, the benefits of the long expansion are only now reaching many communities, and there is plenty of room to build on the impressive gains achieved so far. Fortunately, the outlook for further progress is good: Forecasters are generally predicting continued growth, a strong job market, and inflation near 2 percent. I will begin by discussing the Fed's policy actions over the past year to support the favorable outlook. Then I will turn to two important opportunities for further gains from this expansion: maintaining a stable and reliable pace of 2 percent inflation and spreading the benefits of employment more widely. more »

Rose Madeline Mula Writes: I have had a couple of falls recently. The time before last, I broke my shoulder. When the orthopedic doctor finally discharged me after a series of follow-up visits, I asked him if I had any restrictions. “Yes,” he said. “Don’t fall.” So of course I did — at the door of my building when I got home. And of course I couldn’t get up. My phobia has extended to even very low-incline ramps. As for escalators, forget about them. Not only are the steps moving, but so is the handrail. You might as well ask me to scale Everest without the help of a Sherpa.     more »

“Mr. Morrison confirmed Ambassador Taylor’s testimony to the Committees that the Ukrainians were told that U.S. military assistance, not just the White House meeting, was conditioned on their public announcement of political investigations that the President wanted. Additionally, following the September 1 meeting between President Zelensky and Vice President Pence, Mr. Morrison confirmed that Ambassador Sondland informed one of President Zelensky’s top aides that American military aid was conditioned on the investigations. Mr. Morrison informed John Bolton of the meeting and was told by Mr. Bolton to go see the lawyers, which he did. “Ms. Williams testified that the President’s requests were ‘unusual and inappropriate’ and shed light on ‘possible other motivations behind a security assistance hold.’ She also confirmed, like Lt. Col. Vindman, that the Ukrainian President specifically mentioned ‘Burisma’ during the call, even though the White House call record does not reflect that. Importantly, Ms. Williams also testified that in mid-May, President Trump instructed Vice President Pence to cancel plans to attend President Zelensky’s inauguration before the date for the inauguration had been set. more »

Mark-Ups: The House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider several bills, including H.R. 4995, the Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act, and H.R. 4996, the Helping Medicaid Offer Maternity Services (MOMS) Act, H.R. 5084, the Improving Corporate Governance through Diversity Act of 2019. Bills introduced: A bill to prohibit the secretary of Health and Human Services from taking any action to implement, enforce, or otherwise give effect to the final rule, entitled “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care; Delegations of Authority;” A bill to repeal certain limits on leave for married individuals employed by the same employer; A bill to require the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to establish an advisory board focused on creating opportunities for women in the trucking industry, and for other purposes.       more »