AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry is slamming the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans to spend $40 billion a month to buy mortgage bonds for as long as it deems necessary to make home buying more affordable.

In a statement Thursday, Perry called the announcement "shocking, even by Washington standards."

He decried the policy's open-ended nature and said that the Fed was "throwing trillions of dollars at the economy to cover up Washington's fiscal failures."

Perry has previously called for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's resignation. Now, he said he believes even more strongly that Bernanke "should go, and take his failed policies with him."

Perry called the Fed's announcement "a huge step backward." He added that while it might provide temporary relief, the economy continues to "be dragged down by incompetent leadership in Washington."