Republican candidate Rubio: Fed needs clear rules to guide rate hikes

[January 19, 2016]    CORALVILLE, Iowa (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said on Monday that the Federal Reserve should approach interest rate increases according to clear rules to make future hikes predictable.

The U.S. senator from Florida commented on Fed policy during a small news conference in between a series of five appearances in eastern Iowa. A few hundred people attended each event.

"There's too much talk about the Fed, too much attention to the Fed," he said. "Economic growth is the result of free enterprise."

Rubio, who has been criticized for missing Senate votes, recently made an appearance to support an "Audit the Fed" bill, which is also supported by Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. senator from Vermont. It did not pass.

(Reporting by Emily Flitter; Writing by Meredith Mazzilli; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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