Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke testified on the U.S. economic outlook for 2012. The hearing touched on a wide range of issues including unemployment, the federal deficit, increasing taxes on the rich to the European debt crisis. Republican Scott Garrett accused the Federal Reserve of overstepping its authority by releasing a white paper on housing which he believed supported President Obama's policy. Chairman Bernanke said that the paper was just meant to be an analysis and apologized if it was taken as any sort of recommendation.