II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 65 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to require Federal Reserve banks to 

interview at least one individual reflective of gender diversity and one 

individual reflective of racial or ethnic diversity when appointing Federal 

Reserve bank presidents, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 9, 2019 

Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BOOKER, and 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to require Federal Reserve banks to interview at least one individual reflective 

of gender diversity and one individual reflective of racial 

or ethnic diversity when appointing Federal Reserve bank 

presidents, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Diverse 

5 Leadership Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) while significant progress has occurred due 

2 to the antidiscrimination amendments to the Federal 

3 Reserve Act, barriers continue to pose significant ob4 stacles for candidates reflective of gender diversity 

5 and racial or ethnic diversity for Federal Reserve 

6 bank president positions in the Federal Reserve Sys7 tem; 

8 (2) the continuing barriers described in para9 graph (1) merit the following amendment; 

10 (3) Congress has received and reviewed testi11 mony and documentation of the historical lack of 

12 gender, racial, and ethnic diversity from numerous 

13 sources, including congressional hearings, scientific 

14 reports, reports issued by public and private agen15 cies, news stories, and reports of related barriers by 

16 organizations and individuals, which show that race17 , ethnicity-, and gender-neutral efforts alone are in18 sufficient to address the problem; 

19 (4) the testimony and documentation described 

20 in paragraph (3) demonstrate that barriers across 

21 the United States prove problematic for full and fair 

22 participation in developing monetary policy by indi23 viduals reflective of gender diversity and racial or 

24 ethnic diversity; and 


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1 (5) the testimony and documentation described 

2 in paragraph (3) provide a strong basis that there 

3 is a compelling need for the below amendment to ad4 dress the historical lack of gender, racial, and ethnic 

5 diversity in the Federal Reserve regional bank presi6 dents selection process in the Federal Reserve Sys7 tem. 

8 SEC. 3. FEDERAL RESERVE BANK PRESIDENTS. 

9 The provision designated ‘‘fifth’’ of the fourth undes10 ignated paragraph of section 4 of the Federal Reserve Act 

11 (12 U.S.C. 341) is amended by inserting after ‘‘employ12 ees.’’ the following: ‘‘In making the appointment of a 

13 president, the bank shall interview at least one individual 

14 reflective of gender diversity and one individual reflective 

15 of racial or ethnic diversity. Not later than January 1 of 

16 each year, the bank shall submit to the Committee on 

17 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the 

18 Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep19 resentatives, and the Office of Inspector General for the 

20 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and 

21 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a report de22 scribing the applicant pool demographic for the preceding 

23 fiscal year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ADJUSTMENTS. 

2 (a) AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS AND WORKFORCE

3 IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1998.—Section 418(b) of the 

4 American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement 

5 Act of 1998 (8 U.S.C. 1184 note) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Governors’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’. 

8 (b) BRETTON WOODS AGREEMENTS ACT.—The 

9 Bretton Woods Agreements Act (22 U.S.C. 286 et seq.) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in section 4(a), by striking ‘‘Chairman of 

12 the Board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the 

13 Board of Governors’’; and 

14 (2) in section 45(a)(1), by striking ‘‘chairman 

15 of the board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of 

16 the Board of Governors’’. 

17 (c) DODD-FRANK WALL STREET REFORM AND CON18 SUMER PROTECTION ACT.—The Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

19 Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 

20 et seq.) is amended by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board’’ 

21 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Chair of the 

22 Board’’. 

23 (d) EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT OF

24 2008.—The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 

25 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5201 et seq.) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘Chairman of the Board’’ each place such term appears 

2 and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board’’. 

3 (e) EMERGENCY LOAN GUARANTEE ACT.—Section 2 

4 of the Emergency Loan Guarantee Act (15 U.S.C. 1841) 

5 is amended by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Gov6 ernors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’. 

7 (f) EMERGENCY STEEL LOAN GUARANTEE AND

8 EMERGENCY OIL AND GAS ACT OF 1999.—The Emer9 gency Steel Loan Guarantee and Emergency Oil and Gas 

10 Act of 1999 (15 U.S.C. 1841 note) is amended— 

11 (1) in section 101(e)(2)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of 

13 Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board 

14 of Governors’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘Chairman,’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Chair,’’; and 

17 (2) in section 201(d)(2)(B)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of 

19 Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board 

20 of Governors’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘Chairman,’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘Chair,’’. 

23 (g) FARM CREDIT ACT OF 1971.—Section 

24 4.9(d)(1)(C) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 

25 2160(d)(1)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘Chairman of the 


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1 Board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board 

2 of Governors’’. 

3 (h) FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE ACT.—The Fed4 eral Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Gov6 ernors’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

7 ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’. 

8 (i) FEDERAL RESERVE ACT.—The Federal Reserve 

9 Act (12 U.S.C. 226 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘chairman’’ each place such 

11 term appears and inserting ‘‘chair’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘Chairman’’ each place such 

13 term appears other than in section 11(r)(2)(B) and 

14 inserting ‘‘Chair’’; 

15 (3) in section 2, in the sixth undesignated para16 graph— 

17 (A) in the second sentence, by striking 

18 ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the Comptroller of the 

19 Currency’s’’; and 

20 (B) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘his’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘the director’s’’; 

22 (4) in section 4— 

23 (A) in the third undesignated paragraph, 

24 by striking ‘‘his office’’ and inserting ‘‘the Of25 fice of the Comptroller of the Currency’’; 


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1 (B) in the fourth undesignated paragraph, 

2 in the provision designated ‘‘fifth’’, by striking 

3 ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the person’s’’; 

4 (C) in the eighth undesignated paragraph, 

5 by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the chair’s’’; 

6 (D) in the seventeenth undesignated para7 graph— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘the officer’s’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘the individual’’; 

12 (E) in the twentieth undesignated para13 graph— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘He’’ each place such 

15 term appears and inserting ‘‘The chair’’; 

16 (ii) in the third sentence— 

17 (I) by striking ‘‘his’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘the’’; and 

19 (II) by striking ‘‘he’’ and insert20 ing a comma; and 

21 (iii) in the fifth sentence, by striking 

22 ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the chair’’; and 

23 (F) in the twenty-first undesignated para24 graph, by striking ‘‘his’’ each place such term 

25 appears and inserting ‘‘the agent’s’’; 


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1 (5) in section 6, in the second undesignated 

2 paragraph, by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

3 Comptroller of the Currency’’; 

4 (6) in section 9A(c)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘he’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘the participant’’; 

6 (7) in section 10— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘he’’ each place such term 

8 appears and inserting ‘‘the member’’; 

9 (B) in the second undesignated paragraph, 

10 by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the member’s’’; 

11 and 

12 (C) in the fourth undesignated para13 graph— 

14 (i) in the second sentence, by striking 

15 ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the chair’s’’; 

16 (ii) in the fifth sentence, by striking 

17 ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the member’s’’; and 

18 (iii) in the sixth sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the member’s’’; 

20 (8) in section 12, by striking ‘‘his’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘the member’s’’; 

22 (9) in section 13, in the eleventh undesignated 

23 paragraph, by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

24 assured’s’’; 

25 (10) in section 16— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘he’’ each place such term 

2 appears and inserting ‘‘the agent’’; 

3 (B) in the seventh undesignated para4 graph— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘the agent’s’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘himself’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘the agent’’; 

9 (C) in the tenth undesignated paragraph, 

10 by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec11 retary’s’’; and 

12 (D) in the fifteenth undesignated para13 graph, by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

14 agent’s’’; 

15 (11) in section 18, in the eighth undesignated 

16 paragraph, by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec17 retary of the Treasury’’; 

18 (12) in section 22— 

19 (A) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘his’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘the director’s or officer’s’’; and 

21 (B) in subsection (g)— 

22 (i) in paragraph (1)(D)— 

23 (I) by striking ‘‘him’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘the officer’’; and 


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1 (II) by striking ‘‘he’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘the officer’’; and 

3 (ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking 

4 ‘‘him as his’’ and inserting ‘‘the officer as 

5 the officer’s’’; and 

6 (13) in section 25A— 

7 (A) in the twelfth undesignated para8 graph— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘he’’ each place such 

10 term appears and inserting ‘‘the member’’; 

11 and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘the member’s’’; 

14 (B) in the fourteenth undesignated para15 graph, by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the di16 rector’s or officer’s’’; and 

17 (C) in the twenty-second undesignated 

18 paragraph, by striking ‘‘his’’ each place such 

19 term appears and inserting ‘‘such individual’s’’. 

20 (j) FEDERAL RESERVE REFORM ACT OF 1977.—Sec21 tion 204(b) of the Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977 

22 (12 U.S.C. 242 note) is amended by striking ‘‘Chairman 

23 or Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘Chair or Vice Chair of the Board of Governors’’. 


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1 (k) FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REFORM, RECOVERY, 

2 AND ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1989.—The Financial Insti3 tutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in section 308 (12 U.S.C. 1463 note)— 

6 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Chair7 man of the Board of Governors’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Chair10 man of the Board of Governors’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’; 

12 (2) in section 1001(a) (12 U.S.C. 1811 note), 

13 by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Governors’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’; 

15 and 

16 (3) in section 1205(b)(1)(A) (12 U.S.C. 1818 

17 note)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of 

19 Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board 

20 of Governors’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘Chairman’s’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘Chair’s’’. 

23 (l) FOOD, CONSERVATION, AND ENERGY ACT OF

24 2008.—Section 13106(a) of the Food, Conservation, and 

25 Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2 note) is amended by strikVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65

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1 ing ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Governors’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’. 

3 (m) HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT

4 OF 1992.—Section 1313(a)(3) of the Housing and Com5 munity Development Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4513(a)(3)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘CHAIRMAN’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘CHAIR’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Gov10 ernors’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

11 ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’; and 

12 (3) by striking ‘‘Chairman regarding’’ and in13 serting ‘‘Chair regarding’’. 

14 (n) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978.—Section 8G 

15 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Governors’’ each place 

17 such term appears and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board of 

18 Governors’’. 

19 (o) INTERNATIONAL LENDING SUPERVISION ACT OF

20 1983.—Section 908(b)(3)(C) of the International Lending 

21 Supervision Act of 1983 (12 U.S.C. 3907(b)(3)(C)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Gov23 ernors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’. 

24 (p) NEIGHBORHOOD REINVESTMENT CORPORATION

25 ACT.—Section 604(a)(3) of the Neighborhood ReinvestVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S65.IS S65

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1 ment Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 8103(a)(3)) is amended 

2 by striking ‘‘Chairman’’ each place it appears and insert3 ing ‘‘Chair’’. 

4 (q) PUBLIC LAW 93–495.—Section 202(a)(1) of Pub5 lic Law 93–495 (12 U.S.C. 2402(a)(1)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Gov7 ernors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board of Gov8 ernors’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘his’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

10 Chair’s’’. 

11 (r) SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002.—Section 

12 101(e)(4)(A) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 

13 U.S.C. 7211(e)(4)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Chairman 

14 of the Board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the 

15 Board of Governors’’. 

16 (s) SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934.—Section 

17 17A(f)(4)(C) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

18 U.S.C. 78q–1(f)(4)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘Chairman 

19 of the Board of Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair of the 

20 Board of Governors’’. 

21 (t) TITLE 31.—Title 31, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in section 1344(b)(7), by striking ‘‘Chair24 man of the Board of Governors’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’; and 


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1 (2) in section 5318A, by striking ‘‘Chairman of 

2 the Board of Governors’’ each place such term ap3 pears and inserting ‘‘Chair of the Board of Gov4 ernors’’. 

5 (u) TRADE ACT OF 1974.—Section 163(b)(3) of the 

6 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2213(b)(3)) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘Chairman of the Board of Governors’’ and in8 serting ‘‘Chair of the Board of Governors’’. 

9 (v) DEEMING OF NAME.—Any reference in a law, 

10 regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 

11 States to the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the 

12 Federal Reserve System shall be deemed to be a reference 

13 to the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal 

14 Reserve System. 

Æ 


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