WASHINGTON—  Ben Bernanke on Tuesday reiterated the Federal Reserve’s plan to hold interest rates near record lows until at least late 2014.

The Fed chairman stuck with the three-year time line at a Senate Budget Committee hearing, even after the government last week reported a surge in January hiring that drove the unemployment rate down to a three-year low.

None of the senators asked Bernanke whether the encouraging job figures were reason enough for the Fed to rethink holding interest rates low for that long. And Bernanke didn’t tout the hiring data during the two-hour hearing. Bernanke maintained the Fed’s position: the economy is improving at a frustratingly slow pace and that low rates are necessary to boost growth.