In response to positive statements by both the White House and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the need for an economic stimulus plan, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement urging quick bipartisan action to boost the economy:

“Everything seems to be coming together. Chairman Bernanke’s explicit endorsement of a stimulus package and his implicit judgment that extending Bush’s tax cuts would not help create short term economic stimulus, along with President Bush’s interest in stimulus, and House and Senate leaders coming together around a bipartisan plan – means that this could all gel shortly. And that is very important for our economy.”

The Joint Economic Committee held the first Congressional hearing of 2008 yesterday on the economy and need for an economic stimulus package. Former Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers testified to the need for up to $150 billion in economic stimulus, including tax cuts and spending measures. Fellow panelists from the Economic Policy Institute and the Heritage Foundation and most members of the Committee concurred that economic stimulus was needed. Schumer said yesterday that that the right combination of short-term tax cuts and spending stimuli, enacted quickly, will boost the economic fortunes of middle class families and jumpstart our economy.

Schumer, joined by Sen. Ted Kennedy yesterday, expressed a strong desire that an economic stimulus package be put forward before the President’s State of the Union Address because quick action is required to boost the economy.

All testimony and opening statements from yesterday’s JEC hearing can be found HERE

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