WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today met with President Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Gov. Jerome “Jay” H. Powell.

Wicker discussed the impacts of tax reform on the U.S. economy and asked for Powell’s suggestions to grow the economy in Mississippi. They also discussed much-needed regulatory relief for small community banks in Mississippi.  Legislation that passed the Senate Banking Committee last month would improve the financial regulatory framework and increase lending capacity for small community banks that are greatly impacted by Dodd-Frank regulations.

Wicker introduced bipartisan legislation last August that would spur economic growth in local communities in Mississippi by helping local banks lend money to small businesses and first-time homebuyers.

Powell has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System since May 25, 2011. Prior to his appointment to the board, Powell was a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, where he focused on federal and state fiscal issues. He served as an Assistant Secretary and as Undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush, with responsibility for policy on financial institutions, the Treasury debt market, and related areas.