![FILE PHOTO: Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Independent Inquiry Committee, listens to journalists after addressing the [Security Council] at the United Nations in New York, September 7, 2005. Photo by Reuters](https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/newshour/app/themes/pbs-newshour/assets/img/placeholder.jpg)
Column: Paul Volcker’s legacy, an independent Federal Reserve, is under threat
One of Volcker's legacies is taming the runaway inflation that posed an existential threat to the U.S. economy in the late 1970s. Less discussed is just how important he was to establishing the principle of an independent Federal Reserve.
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News Wrap: House opens debate on bill to lower prescription drug costs
In our news wrap Wednesday, the House opened debate on a Democratic bill to lower prescription drug costs through government negotiations. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appealed for bipartisan support, but Sen. Mitch McConnell said he won’t bring the bill up…
Federal Reserve leaves interest rates unchanged and foresees no moves in 2020
The Fed's decision follows three rate cuts earlier this year.
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker dies at age 92
Volcker took charge of the Fed in August 1979, when the U.S. economy was slipping into the grip of runaway inflation.
Monday’s meeting could fuel concerns that the White House is intensifying public pressure on Jerome Powell -- who was President Donald Trump’s own choice to lead the Fed -- to cut rates more aggressively.
Jerome Powell is one of the few leading public figures urging Congress to reduce the federal government’s annual deficit, which is nearing $1 trillion.
In testimony before a congressional panel, Powell expressed optimism about the U.S. economy and said he expects it will grow at a solid pace, though it still faces risks from slower growth overseas and trade tensions.
The Fed's move reduces the short-term rate it controls — which influences many consumer and business loan rates — to a range between 1.5% and 1.75%.
Dropping this phrase from the Federal Reserve's meeting language would be seen as a hint that the rate cut the Fed is set to announce this week will be the last one it expects to make for 2019.
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