Yellen Defends Biden Stimulus in Face of Inflation Criticism
- Treasury chief delivers speech on lessons from recovery plans
- Yellen says program crafted during time of severe uncertainty
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen mounted a full-throated defense of the Biden administration’s 2021 spending package Thursday in the face of criticism that it helped to fuel the highest inflation in 40 years.
Yellen helped champion the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which came on the heels of two major packages in 2020 totaling almost $3 trillion under President Donald Trump. The ARP pumped money to households, businesses and local governments to weather fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, just as vaccinations were ramping up.