Fed Chair Powell has prodded Congress to ramp up federal relief spending. Here are the 3 additional steps he thinks the government should take to keep the economy afloat.

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• Powell testified to Congress this week, and he weighed in about the risks of abruptly cutting off federal aid too soon.
• "It would be wise to look at ways to continue to support people who are out of work and also smaller businesses that may not have vast resources for a period of time … so that we can get through this critical phase," he said.
• Among the three key areas where Powell has prodded lawmakers to act are aid to states, unemployment benefits, and public health measures.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified to Congress earlier this week on the state of monetary policy during the coronavirus pandemic. But he's increasingly sounding off about the risks of yanking away federal aid to struggling people and businesses too soon.

Powell has endured a hefty amount of ridicule from President Donald Trump, who once labeled him "an enemy of the state." The president recently blasted the Fed as being "wrong so often."

But that hasn't derailed Powell from launching programs to aimed at pumping massive amounts of cash into the economy and keep the recession from worsening.

The Fed traditionally doesn't directly advocate for specific fiscal policy initiatives as it's supposed to be apolitical and keep out of partisan political battles. Yet Powell is nudging lawmakers to recognize the dangers of inaction as the economy starts recovering, given a projected unemployment rate of nearly 10% at the end of the year.

"It would be wise to look at ways to continue to support people who are out of work and also smaller businesses that may not have vast resources for a period of time … so that we can get through this critical phase," he said. "That support would be well placed at this time."

Here are the three key areas where Powell has encouraged further federal action to keep the economy afloat.

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