The economy's continued weakness will persist through 2011, and high unemployment will keep causing consumer confidence to sag, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee today.

He told lawmakers that the "substantial economic slack" has placed pressure on the Fed to have an activist and "highly accommodative stance" in its monetary policy.

Bernanke said that while the Fed will shift some of its policies once the economy improves substantially, that's not likely to happen in the near term.

"Job insecurity, together with declines in home values and tight credit, is likely to limit gains in consumer spending. The possibility that the recent stabilization in household spending will prove transient is an important downside risk to the outlook," he said.

He urged lawmakers to do more to curb the nation's long-term indebtedness, because otherwise the nation's long-term economic health would be jeopardized.

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