Lucas Presses Federal Reserve Chair on Consequences of Low Interest Rates
Feb 25, 2015
Press
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, today questioned Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen about the impact of the central bank’s quantitative easing policy on older Americans and those saving for retirement. The Federal Reserve’s policies have artificially restrained interest rates, threatening the value of traditionally safer assets such as bonds or bank deposits.
At a House Financial Services hearing Lucas noted, “Over the course of the last six years, policy decisions have been made… dramatically causing interest rates to be less than they would have normally been, and at the same time, having an aggressive buying program on certain assets that would in effect hold up their value above and beyond what they would normally be worth that there is a cost there.”
Lucas expressed concern about the consequences of these policies on older Oklahomans and those approaching retirement. “Someone is paying for the economic methadone we’ve been existing on for six years,” Lucas said. In response, Yellen acknowledged that “it’s been a tough period for savers…retirees especially”.
Addressing concerns from older constituents, Lucas requested numbers from the Federal Reserve reflecting the transfer of value between one asset class to another as a result of quantitative easing.
Share on
Recent Posts
Jun 24, 2025
Economy
Lucas Questions Chair Powell on SLR Reform
Washington, DC – Today, the House Financial Services Committee held its semi-annual hearing with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to examine monetary policy and the state of the economy. As Chair of the Task Force on Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity, Congressman Frank D. Lucas (OK-03) opened the hearing with one-minute remarks. The Task Force is charged […]
Jun 23, 2025
Agriculture
Lucas Bill to Protect American Farmland Passes out of the House
Washington, DC – Today the Agricultural Risk Review Act (H.R. 1713) passed on the House floor after Congressman Lucas spoke in support of the bill. You can watch his remarks by clicking here. H.R. 1713 adds the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the interagency committee charged with […]
Jun 18, 2025
Press
Reps. Lucas and Davids Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Food Access on Tribal Lands
Washington, DC – Representatives Frank D. Lucas (R-OK-03) and Sharice Davids (D-KS-03) recently introduced the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at improving access to healthy food for tribal communities across the country. The bill would give tribal governments permanent control over running the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations […]