Bernanke warns Congress to be careful with cuts

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is reiterating that Congress should not cut spending sharply when the economy is weak.

Bernanke tells the Joint Economic Committee that lawmakers face a complex situation. While they must avoid making decisions that could impeded the recovery, he says they must eventually go further than the $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts being sought by a special panel.

Bernanke says that the U.S. economy is growing more slowly than the Federal Reserve had expected and that the most significant factor depressing consumer confidence is poor job growth. He says the Fed is