Ben Bernanke made the keynote address at a conference on the U.S. economy and the federal debt ceiling. Among his remarks he said that "failing to raise the debt ceiling in a timely way would be self-defeating if the objective is to chart a course toward a better fiscal situation for our nation. History makes clear that failure to put our fiscal house in order will erode the vitality of our economy, reduce the standard of living in the United States, and increase the risk of economic and financial instability."