Bernanke claims he has the tools, will to reel in stimulus

JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON

Making a case for a second term as head of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke said this morning that he has the tools and the political backbone necessary to reel in massive economic support once the recovery is firmly rooted. While widely crediting with he lping ke ep the Great Recession from becoming a second Great Depression, Bernanke faces enormous anger from both Congress and the public for bailing out Wall Street, while ordinary Americans are struggling under the crush of high unemployment, stagnant incomes and rising foreclosures. If confirmed to a second, four-year term, Bernanke vowed to work with Congress to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory structure and to bring about stronger and more effective supervision, he told the Senate Banking Committee. "It would be a tragedy if, after all the hardships that Americans have endured during the past two years, our nation failed to take the steps necessary to prevent a recurrence of a crisis of the magnitude we have recently confronted," Bernanke told the panel.