Bernanke tries to cool political heat on QE3 (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday tried to answer some of the criticism of the Fed's third round of bond purchases, known as quantitative easing. In a speech to the Economic Club of Indiana in Indianapolis, Bernanke said the central bank's strategy "is the same as it has always been": lowering rates in an effort to spur business and household spending. He added that the Fed has not abandoned its mission to keep inflation under control, and that it is not "enabling" Congress to duck big questions on fiscal policy or monetizing the federal debt. While the Fed is aware that savers are hurt by current low rates, the central bank has to try to get the economy stronger, he noted. Bernanke also said the Fed's pledge to keep rates low until mid-2015 was not a forecast of a weak economy over the next three years. Instead, the message is "as long as price stability is preserved, we will take care not to raise rates prematurely."