Powell warned that getting inflation under control could cause some economic pain.
Powell said he couldn't promise a soft landing for the economy as the Fed raises interest rates.
A soft landing is getting back to 2% inflation while keeping the labor market strong. The central bank chief said in an interview that it is difficult to accomplish that right now.
With a tight labor market pushing up wages, avoiding a recession that often follows policy tightening will be a challenge.
It won't be easy. He said that no one here thinks it will be easy.
The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Powell for a second term on the same day that the remarks were published.
His second-term priorities will be to control price inflation that in April ran at an 8.3% annual rate, just off a more than 40-year high posted in March.
The Fed raised the interest rate by half a percentage point last week. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to raise its benchmark rate by another half-point in June.
Powell said he understands the added pain that higher rates may cause, but that the Fed needs to act aggressively.
He said the goal was to get inflation back down to 2% without the economy going into recession. We can't fail to restore price stability, that's the only thing we can do. The economy doesn't work for anyone without price stability.
Powell has come under some criticism for the Fed's delay in raising rates and ending its bond-buying program. At his news conference last week, he made remarks that were interpreted as taking more aggressive steps, like a 75 basis point increase.
He said in the interview that he wasn't sure how much difference it would have made, but he did the best he could.
Powell said that they are determined to use their tools to get back to price stability.
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