Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke tempered expectationsthe Fed will resume buying bonds as criticism from Republicansenators highlighted the potential backlash to additional monetarystimulus.

“We're not proposing anything today,” Bernanke said to theSenate Banking Committee yesterday in Washington. “We just want tomake sure that we have the options when they become necessary. Butat this point, we're not proposing to undertake that option,” hesaid, referring to a third round of quantitative easing, orQE3.

Bernanke appeared for semi-annual congressional testimony theweek after the government reported that the jobless rate rose to9.2 percent last month, with 14.1 million Americans unemployed. TheFed has held its target interest rate near zero for more than 30months and expanded its balance sheet to a record $2.88 trillionthrough two rounds of large-scale asset purchases. Policy makersnow are waiting to see whether the economy strengthens beforechanging their stance, Bernanke said.