July 24 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin said the Fed next week will debate whether to begin a program to speed economic growth and reduce unemployment through large-scale purchases of bonds.

Another round of Treasury purchases "is something that will be debated in the upcoming FOMC meeting," Raskin said yesterday in response to audience questions after a speech in Boulder, Colorado, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee. "It will be debated against the backdrop of the dual mandate" to ensure stable prices and maximum employment.

The FOMC plans to meet July 31-Aug. 1 as reports point to sputtering growth in the world's largest economy. The Fed's options to promote faster job gains include expanding its balance sheet, reducing the interest rate paid to banks for reserves held at the central bank and altering communications on the outlook for interest rates, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in testimony to Congress last week.