Congress may add a day to Fed hearings

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The traditional two-day Fed hearing may no longer be enough for Congress.

Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the new head of the House Financial Services Committee, reportedly plans to add a day for economists, labor experts and others to respond to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke

Bernanke is scheduled to testify on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee and the House committee on Feb. 14 and 15, said the Wall Street Journal on its Web site Saturday. But despite the Valentine's Day scheduling, the hearings may not be a love-fest.

The Fed chairman could face political opposition to raising interest rates and the possibility of the Fed setting an inflation target, the Wall Street Journal report said.

Frank told the Journal he opposes setting an inflation target. Some critics fear that setting a target would fight inflation at the expense of jobs.

Nevertheless, Frank told the Journal he was "impressed" by Bernanke's performance as Fed chairman.

The Fed chairman is required by law to testify before Congress two times a year, in February and July.

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