Yellen to defend Fed's ultra-easy monetary policy WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Janet Yellen, President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. Federal Reserve, will offer a stout defense on Thursday of the central bank's aggressive monetary easing before a Senate panel that includes some tough Republican critics. At a Senate Banking Committee hearing on her nomination to be the first woman to run the nation's central bank, Yellen is likely to remain vague on future Fed actions. But she will look to head off calls for the Fed to back away from its muscular efforts to spur stronger economic growth and lower unemployment. "I believe that supporting the recovery today is the surest path to returning to a more normal approach to monetary policy," Yellen, the Fed's current vice chair, will tell the panel, according to prepared remarks released late on Wednesday. The hearing is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Her words bolstered expectations the central bank would push on with its bond-buying stimulus into next year and move cautiously when it seeks to temper its support for the economy. President Barack Obama nominated Yellen last month to replace Fed chief Ben Bernanke when his term expires on January 31. The banking committee, where Obama's Democrats occupy 12 of the 22 seats, will vet her credentials to become the most powerful official in the U.S. and world economy, before sending her nomination to the full Senate for consideration. Despite criticism, she is expected to win confirmation without drama, although it is not yet clear when lawmakers will debate and vote on the merits of her selection. U.S. growth picked up in the third quarter, but is expected to struggle in the final three months of the year after consumer and business confidence was dented by a bitter partisan budget battle in Washington. As a result, the Fed has maintained a controversial bond buying program, while holding interest rates near zero, and Yellen's remarks bolstered views she would preserve policy continuity with Bernanke. Calling the U.S. unemployment rate of 7.3 percent in October too high, she noted the economy and labor markets were performing "far short" of their potential, while inflation was under the Fed's 2 percent goal and expected to stay there for some time. Our country has come a long way since the dark days of the financial crisis, but we have farther to go. Likewise, I believe the Federal Reserve has made significant progress toward its goals, but has more work to do," she said. But analysts expect her to be very careful not to give any clues ahead of the Fed's December 17-18 meeting, although her stress on the need for stimulus reinforced expectations the central bank would not scale back its purchases until next year. (Reporting By Alister Bull.