Bernanke lays out plan for tighter money

[Joanne98]

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke unveiled a blueprint Wednesday for pulling back -- when the economy is strong enough --the trillions of dollars the central bank provided to prop up the nation's banks and the U.S. economy.

"These programs, which imposed no cost on the taxpayer, were a critical part of the government's efforts to stabilize the financial system and restart the flow of credit," Bernanke said in prepared testimony for a House Financial Services Committee hearing that was postponed due to snow. "As financial conditions have improved, the Federal Reserve has substantially phased out these lending programs."

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/10/news/economy/fed_unwinding/