Tom Harkin: “It is bigger by a tremendous magnitude. We deal here in budgets in terms of billions of dollars. I know it sounds like a…”

“It is bigger by a tremendous magnitude. We deal here in budgets in terms of billions of dollars. I know it sounds like a lot of money. But what the Fed does affects the entire $7 trillion economy. The Senator from Minnesota is absolutely right, what the Federal Reserve System does has a more profound effect on the daily lives of our citizens--how they live, how they are able to take care of their families, what kind of jobs they have, and what they have paid--than anything that we ever vote on around here in terms of budget matters. I thank the Senator for his inquiries and enlightenment on this issue. He has been a long-time fighter for the average working families and making sure that working people get a fair deal. I know the Senator from Minnesota understands that if you have lower interest rates, that helps working families. It helps families. The Senator from Minnesota also knows, as most of us know, that in the last couple of years, with this tight money policy, this high interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve, some people have said, ``Well, gee, whatever they have done has been good. Our economy is great. Whatever the Fed has done is good. Look at what is happening in our economy. Look what is happening in our economy. Unemployment is down.'' That is true.…”