WASHINGTON – Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Ranking Member Carolyn B. Maloney issued the following statement Wednesday in response to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision to raise the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percent:

“I want to thank the non-partisan Federal Reserve for its steady leadership guiding an economy that had been on its knees back to solid footing – particularly in the face of Congressional spending cuts that actually impeded the recovery.

“In spite of stagnant growth across the globe, unemployment continues to fall in the U.S. and our economy has added jobs for a record-breaking 69 consecutive months.

“This rate increase, after six years of a zero percent interest rate, underscores just how far the economy has come from the depths of the Great Recession and reflects confidence that the objectives of maximum employment and price stability will be achieved.

“Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said many times, however, that below-target inflation and remaining slack in the labor market may warrant keeping the interest rate below what the Fed would consider a normal level for some time, and the Fed made clear today its expectation that economic conditions will warrant only gradual increases in the interest rate.

“I am hopeful the Fed’s decision to start normalizing monetary policy will not impede our current economic recovery, and I am confident that the Fed will continue to pursue a data-driven approach to monetary policy.”