US economy on path to robust recovery: Treasury Secretary

The American economy is on a path of robust recovery, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday during testimony before the Senate Finance Committee.

Yellen said US President Joe Biden administration's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan helped Americans and the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic but other issues remain.

"Long before a single American was infected with COVID-19, millions of people in this country were running up against a series of long-term, structural economic challenges that undermined their ability to make a good living," she said.

Yellen listed some of the challenges, including wage inequality, declining rate of labor force participation, climate change and racial inequality.

"The private sector does not make enough of the types of investments needed to reverse them," she said, adding that new fiscal policies, such as Biden's budget plan, will unwind those trends.

"We need to make these investments at some point, and now is fiscally the most strategic time to make them. We expect the cost of federal debt payments will remain well below historical levels through the coming decade. We have a window to invest in ourselves," she said.