I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7946 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to add additional demographic reporting 

requirements, to modify the goals of the Federal Reserve System, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 4, 2020 

Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to add additional demographic reporting requirements, to modify the goals of 

the Federal Reserve System, 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 ‘‘Federal Reserve Racial 

5 and Economic Equity Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DUTY TO MINIMIZE AND ELIMINATE RACIAL DIS7 PARITIES. 

8 The Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et seq.) is 

9 amended by inserting after section 2B the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2C. DUTY TO MINIMIZE AND ELIMINATE RACIAL DIS2 PARITIES. 

3 ‘‘The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys4 tem and the Federal Open Market Committee shall exer5 cise all duties and functions in a manner that fosters the 

6 elimination of disparities across racial and ethnic groups 

7 with respect to employment, income, wealth, and access 

8 to affordable credit, including actions in carrying out— 

9 ‘‘(1) monetary policy; 

10 ‘‘(2) regulation and supervision of banks, 

11 thrifts, bank holding companies, savings and loan 

12 holding companies, and nonbank financial companies 

13 and systemically important financial market utilities 

14 designated by the Financial Stability Oversight 

15 Council; 

16 ‘‘(3) operation of payment systems; 

17 ‘‘(4) implementation of the Community Rein18 vestment Act of 1977; 

19 ‘‘(5) enforcement of fair lending laws; and 

20 ‘‘(6) community development functions.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. APPEARANCES BEFORE AND REPORTS TO THE CON22 GRESS. 

23 Section 2B of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 

24 225b) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

3 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) economic developments and prospects 

6 for the future described in the report required 

7 in subsection (b), including a discussion of dis8 parities in employment, income, and wealth 

9 across racial and ethnic groups as well as other 

10 specific segments of the population; and 

11 ‘‘(C) plans, activities, and actions of the 

12 Board and the Federal Open Market Committee 

13 to minimize and eliminate racial disparities in 

14 employment, wages, wealth, and access to af15 fordable credit pursuant to section 2C.’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘The Board’’ and inserting 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) TREND INFORMATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each report required 

23 under paragraph (1) shall include recent trends 

24 in the unemployment rate, labor force participa25 tion rate, employment to population ratio, meVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7946.IH H7946

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1 dian household income, and change in real 

2 earnings. 

3 ‘‘(B) DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.—The 

4 trends required to be reported under subpara5 graph (A) shall include a comparison among 

6 different demographic groups, including race 

7 (White, African-American, Latino, Native 

8 American, and Asian populations), ethnicity, 

9 gender, and educational attainment.’’. 

Æ 


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