House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., welcomed the Federal Reserve’s decision to attempt to stimulate the economy, but she wouldn’t predict that the unemployment rate would fall below eight percent.

“I think it’s clear that they did so because they saw a need to bolster the economy; and of course, hopefully, what they’re thinking will become a reality,” Pelosi replied when asked if she had “faith that that will do anything to improve the economy and bring unemployment under 8 percent” during her press briefing.

The Federal Reserve voted to buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities  in an attempt to lower mortgage rates. “The Committee is concerned that, without further policy accommodation, economic growth might not be strong enough to generate sustained improvement in labor market conditions,” the Open Market Committee explained.

“I think it’s clear that they did so because they saw a need to bolster the economy; and of course, hopefully, what they’re thinking will become a reality,” Pelosi said today. “It already has had an impact on the stock market — it’s up, what, 80 points already today [and] Nasdaq is up as well. So, from a confidence standpoint, it has already had an effect. I think the strength of the vote, the reaction so far would indicate that we’re optimistic it would have a positive impact on the economy.”

Senate Democrats asked Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke not to wait until after the election to attempt to stimulate the economy.

“Despite two false starts, we’re having a much rougher time than we ever imagined getting unemployment down,” Schumer told Bernanke during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in July. “So get to work, Mr. Chairman.” Schumer said Bernanke needed to act because Congress would not do so — “maybe after November we will,” he said at the time.