Mr. Bernanke repeated, as he has many times before, that while some of the measures in response to the financial crisis were “distasteful and unfair,” they were necessary.

Image Ben Bernanke, the chief of the Fed, aims to preserve its powers and independence. Credit... Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News

The White House and senior Democratic lawmakers in both the House and the Senate have proposed eliminating the Fed’s current role of setting the rules for products like mortgages and credit cards. Instead, officials have proposed a new federal consumer financial protection agency to both set and enforce rules over such products.

The op-ed article was part of Mr. Bernanke’s running campaign to preserve the Fed’s powers and independence as the system of financial regulation is overhauled. In the past, it would have been unusual for a Fed chairman to make such pointed remarks in a public forum, but Mr. Bernanke has been more outspoken than most.

“Now more than ever, America needs a strong, nonpolitical and independent central bank with the tools to promote financial stability and to help steer our economy to recovery without inflation,” he said.

And when it comes to monetary policy, he said, “independent does not mean unaccountable.” He said the actions of the Fed were already thoroughly reviewed and needed to be protected from Congressional influence, “which would undermine the confidence the public and the markets have in the Fed.”