Janet Yellen mounted a vigorous defence of the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies as she delivered a confident and comfortable performance to Congress at a confirmation hearing to lead the US central bank.

珍妮特·耶伦(Janet Yellen)昨日为美联储(Federal Reserve)的宽松货币政策进行了有力辩护。被提名为美联储下任主席的她，在美国国会的任命确认听证会上表现自信、自在。

Ms Yellen told members of the Senate banking committee that it was “imperative to do what we can to promote a strong economic recovery”.

耶伦对参议院银行业委员会(Senate banking committee)委员们表示，“我们绝对有必要采取我们力所能及的行动，促进强劲的经济复苏”。

She noted that the labour market had improved, but was still performing “far short” of its potential, with unemployment at 7.3 per cent. She added that the benefits of the Fed’s unconventional asset purchase programme – worth $85bn per month, on top of ultra-low interest rates – exceeded its costs.

她指出，美国劳动力市场已有所好转，但表现仍“远远低于”潜力，失业率徘徊在7.3%。她补充说，美联储非传统的资产购买计划——规模达每月850亿美元，外加超低利率——效益超出成本。

“These purchases have made a meaningful contribution to economic growth and to the improving outlook,” she said.

“这些购买行动对经济增长和前景好转作出了有意义的贡献，”她表示。

Ms Yellen’s tone was relatively dovish, but she did not offer any big clues about when the Fed might begin slowing, or tapering, the pace of its asset purchases.

耶伦的语气相对鸽派，但她没有对美联储可能何时开始缩减资产购买发出任何重大暗示。

After a strong jobs report for October, some economists believe the Fed could make such a move as early as December, but most expect that moment will not come until early next year.

美国发布强劲的10月份就业报告后，一些经济学家相信，美联储最早在12月就可能开始缩减，但多数人预计，这个时刻要到明年初才会到来。

Ms Yellen said there was “no set time” for tapering and at each Fed meeting officials were assessing whether there had been sufficient progress in the labour market to justify such a decision.

耶伦表示，缩减的时机并未确定，美联储每次开会时，官员们都会评估劳动力市场是否已取得足够进展，为开始缩减提供充足依据。

Throughout a hearing that lasted more than two hours, Ms Yellen faced scepticism about the effectiveness, risks, and seemingly open-ended nature of the Fed’s easy money policies from Republican lawmakers.

在长达两个多小时的听证会上，耶伦面对共和党议员的质疑，他们对美联储宽松货币政策的有效性、风险以及貌似无止境的性质提出一个又一个问题。

One described them as a “morphine drip”, another as a “sugar high”, and another still as “elitist”.

其中一名议员形容这样的货币政策是“吗啡点滴”，另一名议员形容其为“吃下甜品后的兴奋感”，还有一人称其为“精英主义”。

“If the labour market doesn’t improve to the point that you reach your target, how long can this continue?” asked Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate banking committee. Ms Yellen responded: “It cannot go on forever, there are costs and risks associated with the programme. We’re monitoring those very carefully.”

“如果劳动力市场一直不能好转到达到你的目标的程度，这还能持续多久？”参议院银行业委员会的共和党一号人物迈克·克拉波(Mike Crapo)问道。对此耶伦回应说：“不能永久持续下去，这个计划是有成本和风险的。我们正非常认真地关注这一切。”

Overall, however, the criticism levelled at Ms Yellen from Republicans was relatively muted, suggesting that her confirmation will be approved by the Senate and she will take over from Ben Bernanke when his term at the helm of the Fed ends in January. Bob Corker, a Republican senator from Tennessee, ended his questioning with praise for Ms Yellen’s “candour and transparency”.

不过，总体而言，共和党议员对耶伦提出的批评是相对温和的，这似乎表明她的任命将得到参议院批准，她将在明年1月本·伯南克(Ben Bernanke)的任期结束时接掌美联储。田纳西州共和党参议员鲍勃·科克(Bob Corker)在结束提问时，对耶伦的“坦率和透明”表示赞赏。