Dodd Welcomes Fed’s Rate Cut, Says More Action Is Needed

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) today welcomed Federal Reserve Chairmen Ben Bernanke’s decision to cut the federal funds rate (the rate at which banks loan money to each other) from 1.5 percent to 1 percent.

The move “facilitates the unlocking of our credit markets so that businesses can continue to operate and American families are able to afford homes, cars and to send their children to college,” Dodd said, praising Bernanke’s “foresight in rejecting calls by other Federal Reserve Governors to raise interest rates several months ago.”

But lowering interest rates alone won’t solve the nation’s economic crisis, Dodd said, pressing for more action from the Bush administration and calling for Congress’s $700 billion bailout fund to be used for job-creating purposes.

See Dodd’s full statement below:

Today’s interest rate cut is a welcome step to the extent that it facilitates the unlocking of our credit markets so that businesses can continue to operate and American families are able to afford homes, cars and to send their children to college.