Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, today praised the decision by the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to continue tapering its large-scale asset purchase program by reducing its purchase of long-term Treasury securities by $5 billion and reducing its purchase of agency mortgage-backed securities by $5 billion.

Chairman Brady said, “It’s another modest step in a long journey back to certainty for investors and jobs creators. The Federal Reserve has succeeded in stimulating Wall Street but has left the middle class and Main Street behind. With an improving economy and potential risk of a future asset bubble, the Fed should commit to ending monetary stimulus by the end of this year.”

Brady also commented on the leadership of outgoing chairman Ben Bernanke. “Few would have predicted the extent of the challenges he would face during his years at the helm of the Federal Reserve. Policy differences aside, Chairman Bernanke has served with intelligence, integrity and a calm hand during extraordinarily turbulent times. I predict his decisions before, during and following the financial crisis will be studied and debated by students of monetary policy for decades to come. I appreciate his willingness to discuss monetary policy with members of Congress, as well as the openness and transparency he brought to the Fed. I thank him for his service to our nation and wish him the very best.”