WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today a government program intended to spark lending to consumers and businesses is still necessary even with other emergency lending programs winding down as the economy recovers.

"An ongoing need still clearly exists" for the program, which also is aimed at making sure loans flow to the troubled commercial real estate market, Bernanke said in brief remarks to a conference here sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

The task of reining in special supports will be every bit as difficult as it was to roll them out to curb the financial crisis, Fed member Kevin Warsh said in Chicago.

"We are at a critical transition period, of still unknown duration, and we must prepare diligently for an uneven road race ahead," Warsh said today. "If policy is not implemented with skill and force and some sense of proportionality, the success of the overall endeavor could suffer."