I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2913 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to improve the functioning and transparency of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and 

the Federal Open Market Committee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Mr. BRADY of Texas (for himself, Mr. JONES, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. BLUM, Mr. 

MCCLINTOCK, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. 

PEARCE, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. COLE, 

Mr. WOODALL, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. FLORES, Ms. JENKINS of Kansas, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, 

and Mr. GOHMERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to improve the functioning and transparency of the Board of Governors of 

the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Sound Dollar Act of 2015’’. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—SINGLE MANDATE FOR PRICE STABILITY ACT 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Price stability mandate. 

TITLE II—FINANCIAL STABILITY AND MORAL HAZARD 

MITIGATION ACT 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Lender-of-last-resort policy. 

TITLE III—DIVERSIFYING THE FEDERAL OPEN MARKET 

COMMITTEE TO REFLECT A 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY ACT 

Sec. 301. Findings. 

Sec. 302. Federal Open Market Committee membership. 

TITLE IV—DEMYSTIFICATION OF MONETARY POLICY DECISIONS 

ACT 

Sec. 401. Findings. 

Sec. 402. Release of transcripts. 

TITLE V—EXCHANGE RATE RESPONSIBILITY ACT 

Sec. 501. Findings. 

Sec. 502. Report on the effect of exchange rate policy. 

Sec. 503. Renaming of Exchange Stabilization Fund. 

Sec. 504. Conversion to all-SDR Fund. 

TITLE VI—CREDIT ALLOCATION NEUTRALITY ACT 

Sec. 601. Findings. 

Sec. 602. Limitation on certain non-emergency security purchases. 

TITLE VII—BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

FUNDING ACT 

Sec. 701. Findings. 

Sec. 702. Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Funding. 

3 TITLE I—SINGLE MANDATE FOR 

4 PRICE STABILITY ACT 

5 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

6 The Congress finds the following: 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (1) Monetary policy can only affect the level of 

2 employment in the short term because nonmonetary 

3 factors determine the level of employment in the 

4 long term. At best, the Federal Reserve may tempo5 rarily increase the level of employment through mon6 etary policy, but such efforts risk the possibility of 

7 price inflation and increased business cycle volatility 

8 in the future. However, the Federal Reserve can 

9 achieve price stability in the long term through mon10 etary policy. Price stability is desirable because both 

11 price inflation and price deflation damage the U.S. 

12 economy. Therefore, to maximize long-term economic 

13 growth and achieve the highest sustainable level of 

14 real output and employment, price stability should 

15 be the objective of monetary policy. 

16 (2) Countries whose central bank has a single 

17 mandate for price stability generally have a better 

18 record of achieving stable prices than countries 

19 whose central bank has a mandate that gives equal 

20 weight to other objectives such as maximum employ21 ment or low interest rates. 

22 (3) In general, an overly accommodative mone23 tary policy inflates both asset prices and prices for 

24 goods and services. However, an overly accommoda25 tive monetary policy may sometimes cause a misalloVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Jul 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2913.IH H2913

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2913 IH

1 cation of capital that inflates asset prices dispropor2 tionately, creating unsustainable bubbles in asset 

3 prices, while price indices for goods and services do 

4 not register significant price inflation. When asset 

5 bubbles burst, many investments must be liquidated 

6 at considerable cost to the U.S. economy in terms of 

7 lower real output and employment. 

8 (4) Price stability cannot always be measured 

9 solely through price indices for goods and services 

10 since such indices exclude changes in asset prices. 

11 Therefore, the Federal Reserve should monitor (A) 

12 the prices of, and the expected returns from, major 

13 asset classes (including equities, residential real es14 tate, commercial and industrial real estate, agricul15 tural real estate, gold and other commodities, cor16 porate bonds, U.S. Government bonds, State and 

17 local government bonds, and other securities), (B) 

18 the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other cur19 rencies, and (C) the value of the United States dol20 lar relative to gold, as metrics to determine whether 

21 the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy is consistent 

22 with long-term price stability. 

23 SEC. 102. PRICE STABILITY MANDATE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2A of the Federal Reserve 

25 Act is amended— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (1) by striking ‘‘maintain long run growth of 

2 the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate 

3 with the economy’s long run potential to increase 

4 production, so as to promote effectively the goals of 

5 maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate 

6 long-term interest rates’’ and inserting ‘‘pursue the 

7 goal of long-term price stability, in order to achieve 

8 the maximum sustainable rate of output growth and 

9 the maximum level of employment through time’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘The Board of Governors’’ and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) PRICE STABILITY METRICS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors of 

16 the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open 

17 Market Committee shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) define the term ‘long-term price sta19 bility’ for purposes of subsection (a); and 

20 ‘‘(B) establish metrics that the Board and 

21 the Committee will use to evaluate whether 

22 long-term price stability is being achieved. 

23 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF METRICS.—In estab24 lishing the metrics described under paragraph 

25 (1)(B), the Board and Committee shall— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2913 IH

1 ‘‘(A) take into consideration price indices 

2 of goods and services; and 

3 ‘‘(B) evaluate, on an ongoing basis— 

4 ‘‘(i) whether such metrics are com5 prehensively reflecting price movements in 

6 the economy; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) whether any price movements not 

8 captured by the price indices of goods and 

9 services are causing a significant misalloca10 tion of capital in the United States econ11 omy. 

12 ‘‘(3) METRIC EVALUATION.—The Board and 

13 Committee shall, with respect to the evaluation proc14 ess required pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), mon15 itor— 

16 ‘‘(A) the prices of, and the expected re17 turns from, major asset classes (including equi18 ties, residential real estate, commercial and in19 dustrial real estate, agricultural real estate, 

20 commodities, corporate bonds, State and local 

21 government bonds, and other securities) and 

22 the allocation of capital in financial markets 

23 and the broader economy; 

24 ‘‘(B) the value of the United States dollar 

25 relative to other currencies; and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2913 IH

1 ‘‘(C) the value of the United States dollar 

2 relative to gold. 

3 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE; REPORT TO THE

4 CONGRESS.—The Board and the Committee shall, 

5 with respect to the definition of long-term price sta6 bility and the establishment of metrics set pursuant 

7 to paragraph (1)— 

8 ‘‘(A) make such definition and metrics 

9 available to the public on a website maintained 

10 by the Board or the Committee; and 

11 ‘‘(B) each time such definition and metrics 

12 are set or revised, issue a report to the Con13 gress stating such definition and metrics.’’. 

14 (b) ADDITIONAL EVALUATIONS AND DETERMINA15 TIONS INCLUDED IN SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT TO CON16 GRESS.—Section 2B(b) of the Federal Reserve Act is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘containing a discussion’’ and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘containing— 

21 ‘‘(1) a discussion’’; 

22 (2) by striking the period and inserting a semi23 colon; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2913 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the results of the evaluation process con2 ducted pursuant to section 2A(b)(2)(B); 

3 ‘‘(3) a determination of whether the goal of 

4 long-term price stability is being met and, if such 

5 goal is not being met, an explanation of why the goal 

6 is not being met and the steps that the Board and 

7 the Federal Open Market Committee will take to en8 sure that the goal is met in the future; and 

9 ‘‘(4) a description of the main monetary policy 

10 instruments used by the Board and the Federal 

11 Open Market Committee and a description of the 

12 strategy of the Board and the Committee with re13 spect to using such instruments to achieve the goal 

14 of long-term price stability.’’. 

15 TITLE II—FINANCIAL STABILITY 

16 AND MORAL HAZARD MITIGA17 TION ACT 

18 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

19 The Congress finds the following: 

20 (1) The Federal Reserve performs an essential 

21 function for financial stability by serving as lender 

22 of last resort in order to— 

23 (A) prevent the unnecessary failures of 

24 otherwise solvent United States banks and 

25 other financial institutions; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (B) reduce the likelihood of financial con2 tagion and disruptions in United States finan3 cial markets; and 

4 (C) minimize any adverse effects on real 

5 output and employment in the United States 

6 economy. 

7 (2) In acting as the lender of last resort, the 

8 Federal Reserve, may— 

9 (A) buy debt securities at fair market 

10 value; or 

11 (B) provide short-term credit, secured by 

12 appropriate collateral in proper margin, to oth13 erwise solvent banks and other financial institu14 tions that encounter funding difficulties during 

15 a financial crisis. 

16 (3) Nevertheless, in its nearly 100-year history, 

17 the Federal Reserve has never clearly articulated its 

18 lender-of-last-resort policy. 

19 (4) The absence of an official lender-of-last-re20 sort policy has led to— 

21 (A) increased economic uncertainty be22 cause no one knows with certainty how the Fed23 eral Reserve may behave; 

24 (B) financially distressed firms seeking po25 litical solutions in the form of pressure from 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2913 IH

1 Congress or the Administration being placed on 

2 the Federal Reserve to act to save them; and 

3 (C) a moral hazard problem from financial 

4 institutions taking greater risks and increasing 

5 leverage based upon assumptions of how the 

6 Federal Reserve will act, though there is no for7 mal statement assuring how the Federal Re8 serve will act. 

9 (5) By establishing a formal lender-of-last-re10 sort policy, the Federal Reserve would decrease un11 certainty in the market during times of financial cri12 sis and mitigate the moral hazards created by recent 

13 bailouts. 

14 (6) An official lender-of-last-resort policy should 

15 provide that once a financial crisis has dissipated, 

16 the Federal Reserve should, in an orderly way, sell 

17 any debt securities that— 

18 (A) the Federal Reserve acquired acting as 

19 lender of last resort; and 

20 (B) the Federal Reserve does not normally 

21 own for its System Account. 

22 (7) Further, to reduce moral hazard, the Fed23 eral Reserve’s lender-of-last-resort policy should 

24 make clear that credit in any form will not be proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Jul 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2913.IH H2913

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2913 IH

1 vided to insolvent banks or other financial institu2 tion. 

3 SEC. 202. LENDER-OF-LAST-RESORT POLICY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the end of the 1- 

5 year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Sys7 tem shall clearly articulate the Board’s lender-of-last-re8 sort policy. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION.—In articulating the policy re10 quired under subsection (a), the Board of Governors shall 

11 consult with— 

12 (1) the Federal Reserve bank presidents; 

13 (2) the Comptroller of the Currency; 

14 (3) the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit In15 surance Corporation; 

16 (4) the Securities and Exchange Commission; 

17 (5) the Commodity Futures Trading Commis18 sion; and 

19 (6) such other persons with expertise in finan20 cial services regulation and monetary policy as the 

21 Board of Governors may determine appropriate. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2913 IH

1 TITLE III—DIVERSIFYING THE 

2 FEDERAL OPEN MARKET 

3 COMMITTEE TO REFLECT A 

4 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY ACT 

5 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

6 The Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The Federal Reserve Act delineates specific 

8 requirements for the seven governors charged with 

9 oversight of the Federal Reserve System. 

10 (2) In a reflection of the Federal Reserve Sys11 tem’s decentralized structure that broadly distrib12 utes power and responsibility across the Nation, the 

13 Act mandates that the presidentially appointed gov14 ernors come from a wide range of geographic loca15 tions and professional backgrounds. Specifically, the 

16 first undesignated paragraph under section 10 of the 

17 Federal Reserve Act states that ‘‘In selecting the 

18 members of the Board, not more than one of whom 

19 shall be selected from any one Federal Reserve Dis20 trict, the President shall have due regard to a fair 

21 representation of the financial, agricultural, indus22 trial, and commercial interests and geographical di23 visions of the country.’’. 

24 (3) The Federal Open Monetary Committee 

25 consists of members of the Board of Governors and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2913 IH

1 the President or Vice President of the Federal Re2 serve Bank of New York on a permanent basis and 

3 rotates voting membership among the remaining Re4 gional Reserve Banks. 

5 (4) The existing structure of the Federal Open 

6 Market Committee places too much authority in the 

7 hands of Washington and New York at the expense 

8 of the remainder of the United States. 

9 (5) Monetary policy should be conducted in the 

10 interest of all Americans and that policy goal is best 

11 achieved by a Federal Open Market Committee that 

12 provides greater representation and voice in policy 

13 decisions to the entire Nation as represented by the 

14 Regional Reserve Banks. This objective is best 

15 achieved by reforming the voting membership of the 

16 Federal Open Market Committee to include all Re17 gional Reserve Banks on a permanent basis. 

18 SEC. 302. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE MEMBER19 SHIP. 

20 Section 12A(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 

21 U.S.C. 263(a)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘five representatives of the Fed23 eral Reserve banks to be selected as hereinafter pro24 vided.’’ and inserting ‘‘1 representative from each of 

25 the Federal Reserve banks.’’; and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (2) by striking ‘‘and, beginning with the elec2 tion for the term commencing March 1, 1943, shall 

3 be elected annually as follows: One by the board of 

4 directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 

5 one by the boards of directors of the Federal Re6 serve Banks of Boston, Philadelphia, and Richmond, 

7 one by the boards of directors of the Federal Re8 serve Banks of Cleveland and Chicago, one by the 

9 boards of directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of 

10 Atlanta, Dallas, and St. Louis, and one by the 

11 boards of directors of the Federal Reserve Banks of 

12 Minneapolis, Kansas City, and San Francisco. In 

13 such elections each board of directors shall have one 

14 vote; and the details of such elections may be gov15 erned by regulations prescribed by the committee, 

16 which may be amended from time to time.’’ and in17 serting ‘‘and shall be elected by the board of direc18 tors of the Federal Reserve bank that they are to 

19 represent.’’. 

20 TITLE IV—DEMYSTIFICATION OF 

21 MONETARY POLICY DECI22 SIONS ACT 

23 SEC. 401. FINDINGS. 

24 The Congress finds the following: 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (1) A more efficient release of transcripts from 

2 the Federal Reserve would result in better guidance 

3 for market participants, and hence more economi4 cally efficient decisionmaking. 

5 (2) According to Federal Reserve Chairman 

6 Ben Bernanke, ‘‘when the monetary policy com7 mittee regularly provides information about objec8 tives, economic outlook, and policy plans, two bene9 fits result: (1) markets will price assets more effi10 ciently, and (2) a closer alignment between market 

11 participants’ expectations about the course of future 

12 short-term interest rates and’’ the views of policy13 makers. 

14 (3) The Federal Reserve is able to release tran15 scripts more efficiently without compromising their 

16 decisionmaking process. 

17 SEC. 402. RELEASE OF TRANSCRIPTS. 

18 Section 12A(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 

19 U.S.C. 263(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(d) RELEASE OF TRANSCRIPTS.—The Committee 

22 shall release meeting transcripts to the public not later 

23 than the end of the 3-year period following each meeting.’’. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 2913 IH

1 TITLE V—EXCHANGE RATE 

2 RESPONSIBILITY ACT 

3 SEC. 501. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds as follows: 

5 (1) The Board of Governors of the Federal Re6 serve System and the Federal Open Market Com7 mittee exercise control over the supply of U.S. dol8 lars, which is a major factor affecting the foreign ex9 change rate value of the United States dollar. There10 fore, the Board of Governors and Federal Open 

11 Market Committee should report to Congress on the 

12 impact of monetary policy on the foreign exchange 

13 rate value of the United States dollar. 

14 (2) Over the last several decades, Secretaries of 

15 the Treasury have repeatedly used the Exchange 

16 Stabilization Fund for purposes that were not envi17 sioned by Congress. To prevent further abuses, the 

18 Exchange Stabilization Fund should be renamed as 

19 the Special Drawing Rights Fund. The Special 

20 Drawing Rights Fund should hold the Special Draw21 ing Rights that the International Monetary Fund 

22 provided to the United States. Any other assets cur23 rently in the Exchange Stabilization Fund should be 

24 liquidated, and the proceeds used to reduce the pub25 lic debt. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 2913 IH

1 SEC. 502. REPORT ON THE EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE 

2 POLICY. 

3 Section 2B(b) of the Federal Reserve Act, as amend4 ed by section 102(b), is further amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) an analysis of how the policies of the 

7 Board and the Federal Open Market Committee are 

8 affecting the foreign exchange rate value of the 

9 United States dollar.’’. 

10 SEC. 503. RENAMING OF EXCHANGE STABILIZATION FUND. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5302 of title 31, United 

12 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘stabilization fund’’ 

13 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Special 

14 Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) BALANCED BUDGET AND EMERGENCY DEF17 ICIT CONTROL ACT OF 1985.—Section 255(g)(1)(A) 

18 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con19 trol Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(g)(1)(A)) is amended 

20 by striking ‘‘Exchange Stabilization Fund’’ and in21 serting ‘‘Special Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

22 (2) EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT

23 OF 2008.—The Emergency Economic Stabilization 

24 Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5211 et seq.) is amended— 

25 (A) in section 131, by striking ‘‘Exchange 

26 Stabilization Fund’’ each place such term apVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Jul 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2913.IH H2913

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 2913 IH

1 pears in headings and text and inserting ‘‘Spe2 cial Drawing Rights Fund’’; and 

3 (B) in the item relating to section 131 in 

4 the table of contents of such Act, by striking 

5 ‘‘Exchange Stabilization Fund’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘Special Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

7 (3) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

8 ACT.—Section 1704 of the International Financial 

9 Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r–3) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘stabilization fund’’ each place such term 

11 appears and inserting ‘‘Special Drawing Rights 

12 Fund’’. 

13 (4) SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS ACT.—The Spe14 cial Drawing Rights Act (22 U.S.C. 286n et seq.) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘Exchange Stabilization Fund’’ 

16 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Special 

17 Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

18 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, regula19 tion, document, paper, or other record of the United 

20 States to the ‘‘Exchange Stabilization Fund’’ shall be 

21 deemed a reference to the ‘‘Special Drawing Rights 

22 Fund’’. 

23 SEC. 504. CONVERSION TO ALL-SDR FUND. 

24 (a) FUNDS USED TO REDUCE THE DEBT.—The Sec25 retary of the Treasury shall liquidate all property in the 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 2913 IH

1 Special Drawing Rights Fund (as so renamed under sec2 tion 503), other than Special Drawing Rights, and use all 

3 such amounts to reduce the public debt. 

4 (b) LIMITATION ON FUND.—Section 5302 of title 31, 

5 United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘is available to carry out’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘is only available to carry out’’; 

9 and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘, and for investing in obli11 gations of the United States Government those 

12 amounts in the fund the Secretary of the Treas13 ury, with the approval of the President, decides 

14 are not required at the time to carry out this 

15 section. Proceeds of sales and investments, 

16 earnings, and interest shall be paid into the 

17 fund and are available to carry out this section. 

18 However, the fund is not available to pay ad19 ministrative expenses’’; and 

20 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(b) FUND ONLY TO HOLD SPECIAL DRAWING

23 RIGHTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

24 only Special Drawing Rights may be deposited into the 

25 Special Drawing Rights Fund.’’. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) BRETTON WOODS AGREEMENTS ACT.—Sec3 tion 18 of the Bretton Woods Agreements Act (22 

4 U.S.C. 286e–3) is hereby repealed. 

5 (2) SUPPORT FOR EAST EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY

6 (SEED) ACT OF 1989.—The Support for East Euro7 pean Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 

8 5401 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (A) in section 101(b)(1), by striking ‘‘such 

10 as—’’ and all that follows through the end of 

11 the paragraph and inserting ‘‘such as the au12 thority provided in section 102(c) of this Act.’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) in section 102(a), by striking ‘‘section 

15 101(b)—’’ and all that follows through the end 

16 of the subsection and inserting ‘‘section 101(b), 

17 should work closely with the European Commu18 nity and international financial institutions to 

19 determine the extent of emergency assistance 

20 required by Poland for the fourth quarter of 

21 1989.’’. 

22 (d) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN FUNDS.—Funds that 

23 would otherwise have been deposited into the Special 

24 Drawing Rights Fund (as so renamed under subsection 

25 (a)), but for the amendments made by this section, shall 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 2913 IH

1 instead be paid to the Secretary of the Treasury, and the 

2 Secretary of the Treasury shall use such funds to reduce 

3 the public debt. 

4 (e) WIND DOWN PERIOD FOR CERTAIN TRANS5 ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

6 section, during the 3-year period beginning on the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, property other than Special 

8 Drawing Rights may be deposited, and maintained, in the 

9 Special Drawing Rights Fund as needed to fulfill any out10 standing obligations on the Fund. 

11 TITLE VI—CREDIT ALLOCATION 

12 NEUTRALITY ACT 

13 SEC. 601. FINDINGS. 

14 The Congress finds the following: 

15 (1) In conducting open market operations, the 

16 Federal Open Market Committee should not allocate 

17 credit among households, firms, and sectors of the 

18 United States economy. 

19 (2) To assure the credit allocation neutrality of 

20 open market operations among households, firms, 

21 and sectors of the United States economy, the Fed22 eral Open Market Committee should conduct open 

23 market operations in United States Government se24 curities, and repurchase and reverse repurchase 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 2913 IH

1 agreements that have a term of 1 year or less, ex2 cept in unusual and exigent circumstances. 

3 SEC. 602. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN NON-EMERGENCY SECU4 RITY PURCHASES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Reserve Act is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in section 12A, by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(d) EMERGENCY PURCHASING AUTHORITY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In unusual and exigent cir11 cumstances, the Committee, by the affirmative vote 

of at least 2 12 ⁄3 of the members of the Committee, may 

13 authorize any Federal reserve bank, during such pe14 riod as the Committee may determine— 

15 ‘‘(A) to buy and sell, at home or abroad, 

16 bills, notes, revenue bonds, and warrants with a 

17 maturity from date of purchase of not exceed18 ing six months, issued in anticipation of the col19 lection of taxes or in anticipation of the receipt 

20 of assured revenues by any State, county, dis21 trict, political subdivision, or municipality in the 

22 continental United States, including irrigation, 

23 drainage and reclamation districts, and obliga24 tions of, or fully guaranteed as to principal and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 2913 IH

1 interest by, a foreign government or agency 

2 thereof; and 

3 ‘‘(B) to buy and sell in the open market, 

4 under the direction and regulations of the Com5 mittee, any obligation which is a direct obliga6 tion of, or fully guaranteed as to principal and 

7 interest by, any agency of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM HOLDING PERIOD.—Any bond, 

9 bill, note, revenue bond, warrant, or other obligation 

10 purchased by a Federal reserve bank pursuant to 

11 paragraph (1) shall be disposed of before the end of 

12 the 5-year period beginning on the end of the period 

13 determined by the Committee under paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—The Committee shall provide to 

15 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af16 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial 

17 Services of the House of Representatives, not later 

18 than 7 days after the Committee makes an author19 ization under this subsection, a report that in20 cludes— 

21 ‘‘(A) the justification for the exercise of 

22 authority to provide; 

23 ‘‘(B) the identity of the person to or from 

24 which purchases or sales were made; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 2913 IH

1 ‘‘(C) the date and amount of the purchases 

2 or sales; and 

3 ‘‘(D) the material terms of the purchases 

4 or sales.’’; and 

5 (2) in section 14(b)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘bonds 

7 issued under the provisions of subsection (c) of 

8 section 4 of the Home Owners’ Loan Act of 

9 1933, as amended, and having maturities from 

10 date of purchase of not exceeding six months, 

11 and bills, notes, revenue bonds, and warrants 

12 with a maturity from date of purchase of not 

13 exceeding six months, issued in anticipation of 

14 the collection of taxes or in anticipation of the 

15 receipt of assured revenues by any State, coun16 ty, district, political subdivision, or municipality 

17 in the continental United States, including irri18 gation, drainage and reclamation districts, and 

19 obligations of, or fully guaranteed as to prin20 cipal and interest by, a foreign government or 

21 agency thereof,’’; and 

22 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(2) To enter into security repurchase agreements 

25 and reverse repurchase agreements that have a term of 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 2913 IH

1 1 year or less, in accordance with rules and regulations 

2 prescribed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Re3 serve System.’’. 

4 (b) TRANSITION PROVISION.—Each Federal reserve 

5 bank that holds bonds, bills, notes, revenue bonds, war6 rants, or other obligations purchased under the authority 

7 granted by a provision struck under subsection (a)(2) shall 

8 dispose of such obligations not later than the end of the 

9 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act. 

11 TITLE VII—BUREAU OF CON12 SUMER FINANCIAL PROTEC13 TION FUNDING ACT 

14 SEC. 701. FINDINGS. 

15 The Congress finds the following: 

16 (1) As our Nation’s central bank, the Federal 

17 Reserve conducts United States monetary policy and 

18 necessarily exercises broad oversight responsibility to 

19 ensure the safety, soundness, and smooth func20 tioning of the Nation’s banking and payments sys21 tems. 

22 (2) There exists a broad consensus among pol23 icymakers, academics, and most informed com24 mentators that central bank independence is nec25 essary to the proper and effective conduct of moneVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Jul 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2913.IH H2913

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 2913 IH

1 tary policy and those regulatory activities necessary 

2 for the implementation of such monetary policy. 

3 (3) In order to preserve the independence of its 

4 activities, the Federal Reserve should remain oper5 ationally and financially autonomous within the 

6 United States Government. 

7 (4) However, those activities that do not relate 

8 to the functions listed in paragraph (1) should not 

9 occur outside of the constitutionally granted author10 ity of Congress to authorize and oversee the expendi11 ture of public funds. 

12 (5) Therefore, the Bureau of Consumer Finan13 cial Protection should be subject to the Federal ap14 propriations process to ensure effective Congres15 sional oversight over its activities and use of public 

16 funds. 

17 SEC. 702. BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

18 FUNDING. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1017 of the Consumer Fi20 nancial Protection Act of 2010 is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) by amending the heading of such sub23 section to read as follows: ‘‘BUDGET, FINAN24 CIAL MANAGEMENT, AND AUDIT.—’’; 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 2913 IH

1 (B) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and 

2 (3); 

3 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

4 (5) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and 

5 (D) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated— 

6 (i) by striking subparagraph (E); and 

7 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

8 (F) as subparagraph (E); 

9 (2) by striking subsections (b) and (c); 

10 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

11 subsections (b) and (c), respectively; and 

12 (4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated— 

13 (A) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and 

14 (3) and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated such funds as 

17 may be necessary to carry out this title.’’; and 

18 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

19 paragraph (2). 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2015. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS