The Federal Reserve is again scaling back its monthly economic stimulus program. Under a policy called “quantitative easing,” the Fed has spent $85 billion a month buying up Treasury and mortgage bonds in a bid to trigger economic growth. On Wednesday, new Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the program will be reduced by an additional $10 billion a month. Yellen also said the winter season’s extreme weather conditions have weakened the nation’s economic recovery.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen: “Unusually harsh weather in January and February has made assessing the underlying strength of the economy especially challenging. Broadly speaking, however, the spending and production data, while somewhat weaker than we had expected in January, are roughly in line with our expectations as of December, the last time committee participants submitted economic projections.”