Yellen Defends Need for $1.9 Trillion Plan After Strong Data
- Retail sales surged in January, stoking recovery bets
- Yellen cites over 9 million unemployed, long-term risks
Janet Yellen
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the need for $1.9 trillion in pandemic-relief spending -- the second-largest emergency aid bill on record -- even with recent strength in retail sales and U.S. stock values.
“It’s very important to have a big package that addresses the pain this has caused,” Yellen said on CNBC Thursday. “The price of doing too little is much larger than the price of doing something big.”