Bernanke Sees Long Road to Full Recovery

Washington, DC, Aug. 3, 2010--Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday that economic progress is being made but the road to full recovery will be a long one.

"But we have a considerable way to go to achieve a full recovery in our economy, and many Americans are still grappling with unemployment, foreclosure and lost savings," the Fed chief said in a speech to an annual meeting of Southern lawmakers in Charleston, South Carolina.

It marks Bernanke's first public comments since the government report released Friday showed the recovery lost a lot of momentum in the spring. The economy grew at a pace of 2.4% in the April-to-June quarter, down from 3.7% growth at the start of the year.

Bernanke spoke mostly about challenges facing cash-hungry state and local governments. Facing budget shortfalls, state and local governments have been cutting their spending and laying off workers to save money.

Bernanke cited those spending reductions as one of factors behind the "sluggishness of the national recovery."

Economists in an AP Economy Survey, released last week, identified budget woes at state and local governments as a "significant" or "severe" threat to the economic recovery.