Washington ? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday urged Congress and the administration to cut record-high budget deficits, warning that they could erode investor confidence and endanger the economy’s long-term health.

Bernanke’s comments came as concerns grow at home and overseas about the United States’ mounting red ink.

“Even as we take steps to address the recession and threats to financial stability, maintaining the confidence of the financial markets requires that we, as a nation, begin planning now for the restoration of fiscal balance,” Bernanke told the House Budget Committee.

The White House estimates that the government will rack up an unprecedented $1.8 trillion budget deficit this year. That would be more than four times last year’s all-time high.

The recession has taken a bite out of tax revenues paid by people and companies. At the same time, the government’s spending has risen, paying billions to shore up banks, help the unemployed and others hurt by the downturn, the longest since World War II.

Such forceful government intervention to fight the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and lift the U.S. out of recession was “necessary and appropriate” even though it worsened the nation’s budget deficit, he said.