Republicans really don't like the unemployed

The Huffington Post:

Washington - Congressional Republicans are pushing to strip the Federal Reserve of its authority to address unemployment, leaving it with the lone responsibility to combat inflation. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, became on Monday the latest Republican to propose that the central bank stop worrying itself with the jobless crisis.

"It is time that we work to clarify the mandate of the Federal Reserve," Corker said in a statement. "Providing our central bank with a clear and explicit focus on keeping inflation low will serve America better than the broader mandate approach we have today."

Congress, meanwhile, has not made a major attempt to address the unemployment crisis since passing the stimulus in early 2009, leaving the Fed as the policymaker of last resort for the jobless. An emergency extension of unemployment insurance is set to expire if Congress doesn't act shortly, prematurely costing two million people their benefits by the end of the year.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) has long been an advocate of stripping the Fed of its unemployment authority and will be the incoming House Budget Committee chairman. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, a national Republican leader, has similarly called to remove the Fed's responsibility over unemployment.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not reject Corker's suggestion when asked Monday if he agreed the Fed's role should be limited to price stability. Asked if Congress should change the Fed's mandate, McConnell said, "Yeah, that's just one of many issues we will be working with and thinking about in the coming weeks."

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has taken action recently aimed at lessening unemployment, reasoning that the Fed can increase the money supply without major risk of inflation, though critics question whether the action will be effective. Corker met with Bernanke Monday morning and, he said, probed the chairman about the recent Fed actions.