II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1848 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2015 

Mr. LEE (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) 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 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’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

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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. 

1 TITLE I—SINGLE MANDATE FOR 

2 PRICE STABILITY ACT 

3 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) monetary policy can only affect the level of 

6 employment in the short term because nonmonetary 

7 factors determine the level of employment in the 

8 long term; 

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1 (2) at best, the Federal Reserve may tempo2 rarily increase the level of employment through mon3 etary policy, but such efforts risk price inflation and 

4 increased business cycle volatility in the future; 

5 (3) the Federal Reserve can achieve price sta6 bility in the long term through monetary policy; 

7 (4) price stability is desirable because both 

8 price inflation and price deflation damage the 

9 United States economy; 

10 (5) to maximize long-term economic growth and 

11 achieve the highest sustainable level of real output 

12 and employment, price stability should be the objec13 tive of monetary policy; 

14 (6) countries whose central bank has a single 

15 mandate for price stability generally have a better 

16 record of achieving stable prices than countries 

17 whose central bank has a mandate that gives equal 

18 weight to other objectives such as maximum employ19 ment or low interest rates; 

20 (7) while, in general, an overly accommodative 

21 monetary policy inflates both asset prices and prices 

22 for goods and services, an overly accommodative 

23 monetary policy may sometimes cause a 

24 misallocation of capital that inflates asset prices dis25 proportionately, creating unsustainable bubbles in 

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1 asset prices, while price indices for goods and serv2 ices do not register significant price inflation; 

3 (8) if asset bubbles burst, many investments 

4 must be liquidated at considerable cost to the United 

5 States economy in terms of lower real output and 

6 employment; 

7 (9) price stability cannot always be measured 

8 solely through price indices for goods and services 

9 since such indices exclude changes in asset prices; 

10 and 

11 (10) the Federal Reserve should monitor— 

12 (A) the prices of, and the expected returns 

13 from, major asset classes (including equities, 

14 residential real estate, commercial and indus15 trial real estate, agricultural real estate, gold 

16 and other commodities, corporate bonds, United 

17 States Government bonds, State and local gov18 ernment bonds, and other securities); 

19 (B) the value of the United States dollar 

20 relative to other currencies; and 

21 (C) the value of the United States dollar 

22 relative to gold, as metrics to determine wheth23 er the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy is con24 sistent with long-term price stability. 

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1 SEC. 102. PRICE STABILITY MANDATE. 

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

3 Act (12 U.S.C. 225a) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Board of Governors’’ and 

5 inserting the following: 

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

7 (2) by striking ‘‘maintain long run growth of 

8 the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate 

9 with the economy’s long run potential to increase 

10 production, so as to promote effectively the goals of 

11 maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate 

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

13 goal of long-term price stability, to achieve the max14 imum sustainable rate of output growth and the 

15 maximum level of employment through time’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(b) PRICE STABILITY METRICS.— 

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

19 the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open 

20 Market Committee shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) define the term ‘long-term price sta22 bility’ for purposes of subsection (a); and 

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

24 the Committee will use to evaluate whether 

25 long-term price stability is being achieved. 

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1 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF METRICS.—In estab2 lishing the metrics described under paragraph 

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

4 ‘‘(A) consider price indices of goods and 

5 services; and 

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

7 ‘‘(i) whether such metrics are com8 prehensively reflecting price movements in 

9 the economy; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) whether any price movements not 

11 captured by the price indices of goods and 

12 services are causing a significant 

13 misallocation of capital in the United 

14 States economy. 

15 ‘‘(3) METRIC EVALUATION.—With respect to 

16 the evaluation process required under paragraph 

17 (2)(B), the Board and Committee shall monitor— 

18 ‘‘(A) the prices of, and the expected re19 turns from, major asset classes (including equi20 ties, residential real estate, commercial and in21 dustrial real estate, agricultural real estate, 

22 gold and other commodities, corporate bonds, 

23 United States Government bonds, State and 

24 local government bonds, and other securities) 

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1 and the allocation of capital in financial mar2 kets and the broader economy; 

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

4 relative to other currencies; and 

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

6 relative to gold. 

7 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE; REPORT TO CON8 GRESS.—With respect to the definition of long-term 

9 price stability and the establishment of metrics re10 quired under paragraph (1), the Board and the 

11 Committee shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) make such definition and metrics 

13 available to the public on a website maintained 

14 by the Board or the Committee; and 

15 ‘‘(B) submit to Congress a report that in16 cludes the changed definition and metrics each 

17 time such definition and metrics are set or re18 vised.’’. 

19 (b) ADDITIONAL EVALUATIONS AND DETERMINA20 TIONS INCLUDED IN SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT TO CON21 GRESS.—Section 2B(b) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 

22 U.S.C. 225b(b)) is amended— 

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

24 inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘containing— 

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1 ‘‘(1) a discussion’’; 

2 (2) by striking the period and inserting a semi3 colon; and 

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

5 ‘‘(2) the results of the evaluation conducted 

6 under section 2A(b)(2)(B); 

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

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

9 goal is not being met, an explanation of— 

10 ‘‘(A) why the goal is not being met; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the steps that the Board and the 

12 Federal Open Market Committee will take to 

13 ensure that the goal is met in the future; and 

14 ‘‘(4) a description of— 

15 ‘‘(A) the main monetary policy instruments 

16 used by the Board and the Federal Open Mar17 ket Committee; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the strategy of the Board and the 

19 Committee with respect to using such instru20 ments to achieve the goal of long-term price 

21 stability.’’. 

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1 TITLE II—FINANCIAL STABILITY 

2 AND MORAL HAZARD MITIGA3 TION ACT 

4 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the Federal Reserve performs an essential 

7 function for financial stability by serving as lender 

8 of last resort to— 

9 (A) prevent the unnecessary failures of 

10 otherwise solvent United States banks and 

11 other financial institutions; 

12 (B) reduce the likelihood of financial con13 tagion and disruptions in United States finan14 cial markets; and 

15 (C) minimize any adverse effects on real 

16 output and employment in the United States 

17 economy; 

18 (2) in acting as the lender of last resort, the 

19 Federal Reserve may— 

20 (A) buy debt securities at fair market 

21 value; or 

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

23 appropriate collateral in proper margin, to oth24 erwise solvent banks and other financial institumstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tions that encounter funding difficulties during 

2 a financial crisis; 

3 (3) in its nearly 100-year history, the Federal 

4 Reserve has never clearly articulated its lender of 

5 last resort policy; 

6 (4) the absence of an official lender of last re7 sort policy has led to— 

8 (A) increased economic uncertainty be9 cause it is unknown how the Federal Reserve 

10 may behave; 

11 (B) financially distressed firms seeking po12 litical solutions through encouraging Congress 

13 or the Administration to place pressure on the 

14 Federal Reserve to act to save the firms; and 

15 (C) a moral hazard problem from financial 

16 institutions taking greater risks and increasing 

17 leverage based upon assumptions of how the 

18 Federal Reserve will act, though there is no for19 mal statement assuring how the Federal Re20 serve will act; 

21 (5) by establishing a formal lender of last resort 

22 policy, the Federal Reserve would decrease uncer23 tainty in the market during times of financial crisis 

24 and mitigate the moral hazards created by recent 

25 bailouts; 

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1 (6) an official lender of last resort policy should 

2 provide that once a financial crisis has dissipated, 

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

4 any debt securities that the Federal Reserve— 

5 (A) acquired while acting as lender of last 

6 resort; and 

7 (B) does not normally own for its system 

8 account; and 

9 (7) to reduce moral hazard, the lender of last 

10 resort policy of the Federal Reserve should make 

11 clear that credit in any form will not be provided to 

12 any insolvent bank or other financial institution. 

13 SEC. 202. LENDER OF LAST RESORT POLICY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors 

16 of the Federal Reserve System shall clearly articulate the 

17 lender of last resort policy of the Board and shall make 

18 such policy available to the public on a website maintained 

19 by the Board or the Committee. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the policy re21 quired under subsection (a), the Board of Governors shall 

22 consult with— 

23 (1) the Federal Reserve bank presidents; 

24 (2) the Comptroller of the Currency; 

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1 (3) the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit In2 surance Corporation; 

3 (4) the Securities and Exchange Commission; 

4 (5) the Commodity Futures Trading Commis5 sion; and 

6 (6) other persons with expertise in financial 

7 services regulation and monetary policy as the Board 

8 of Governors may determine appropriate. 

9 TITLE III—DIVERSIFYING THE 

10 FEDERAL OPEN MARKET 

11 COMMITTEE TO REFLECT A 

12 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY ACT 

13 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress finds that— 

15 (1) the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et 

16 seq.) delineates specific requirements for the 7 gov17 ernors charged with oversight of the Federal Reserve 

18 System; 

19 (2) in a reflection of the decentralized structure 

20 of the Federal Reserve System that broadly distrib21 utes power and responsibility across the United 

22 States, the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et 

23 seq.) mandates that the presidentially appointed gov24 ernors come from a wide range of geographic loca25 tions and professional backgrounds, as described in 

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1 the first undesignated paragraph under section 10 of 

2 the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 241), which 

3 states ‘‘In selecting the members of the Board, not 

4 more than one of whom shall be selected from any 

5 one Federal Reserve district, the President shall 

6 have due regard to a fair representation of the fi7 nancial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial in8 terests, and geographical divisions of the country.’’; 

9 (3) the Federal Open Monetary Committee con10 sists of members of the Board of Governors and the 

11 President or Vice President of the Federal Reserve 

12 Bank of New York on a permanent basis and rotates 

13 voting membership among the remaining regional re14 serve banks; 

15 (4) the existing structure of the Federal Open 

16 Market Committee places too much authority in the 

17 hands of Washington and New York at the expense 

18 of the remainder of the United States; and 

19 (5) monetary policy should be conducted in the 

20 interest of all people of the United States, a policy 

21 goal that is best achieved— 

22 (A) by a Federal Open Market Committee 

23 that provides greater representation and voice 

24 in policy decisions to all people of the United 

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1 States as represented by the regional reserve 

2 banks; and 

3 (B) by reforming the voting membership of 

4 the Federal Open Market Committee to include 

5 all regional reserve banks on a permanent basis. 

6 SEC. 302. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE MEMBER7 SHIP. 

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

9 U.S.C. 263(a)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘five representatives of the Fed11 eral Reserve banks to be selected as hereinafter pro12 vided.’’ and inserting ‘‘1 representative from each of 

13 the Federal Reserve banks.’’; and 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘and, beginning with the elec15 tion for the term commencing March 1, 1943,’’ and 

16 all that follows through ‘‘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 Congress finds that— 

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1 (1) a more efficient release of transcripts from 

2 the Federal Reserve would result in better guidance 

3 for market participants and more economically effi4 cient decisionmaking; 

5 (2) according to Federal Reserve Chairman, 

6 Ben Bernanke, ‘‘when the monetary policy com7 mittee regularly provides information about its ob8 jectives, economic outlook, and policy plans, two ben9 efits result. First, with more complete information 

10 available, markets will price financial assets more ef11 ficiently. Second, the policymakers will usually find 

12 that they have achieved a closer alignment between 

13 market participants’ expectations about the course 

14 of future short-term rates and their own views’’; and 

15 (3) the Federal Reserve is able to release tran16 scripts more efficiently without compromising its de17 cisionmaking process. 

18 SEC. 402. RELEASE OF TRANSCRIPTS. 

19 Section 12A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 

20 263) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

22 shall release meeting transcripts to the public not later 

23 than 3 years after each meeting.’’. 

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1 TITLE V—EXCHANGE RATE 

2 RESPONSIBILITY ACT 

3 SEC. 501. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

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 United 

8 States dollars, which is a major factor affecting the 

9 foreign exchange rate value of the United States dol10 lar; 

11 (2) the Board of Governors and Federal Open 

12 Market Committee should report to Congress on the 

13 impact of monetary policy on the foreign exchange 

14 rate value of the United States dollar; 

15 (3) over the last several decades, secretaries of 

16 the Treasury have repeatedly used the Exchange 

17 Stabilization Fund for purposes that were not envi18 sioned by Congress; 

19 (4) to prevent further abuses, the Exchange 

20 Stabilization Fund should be renamed as the Special 

21 Drawing Rights Fund; and 

22 (5) the Special Drawing Rights Fund should 

23 hold the Special Drawing Rights that the Inter24 national Monetary Fund provided to the United 

25 States, and any other assets currently in the Exmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 change Stabilization Fund should be liquidated, with 

2 the proceeds used to reduce the public debt. 

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

4 POLICY. 

5 Section 2B(b) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 

6 225b), as amended by section 102(b), is further amend7 ed— 

8 (a) in paragraph (3)(b), by striking the ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (b) in paragraph (4)(b), by striking the period at the 

11 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (c) by adding at the end the following: 

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

14 Board and the Federal Open Market Committee are 

15 affecting the foreign exchange rate value of the 

16 United States dollar.’’. 

17 SEC. 503. RENAMING OF EXCHANGE STABILIZATION FUND. 

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

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

20 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Special 

21 Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) BALANCED BUDGET AND EMERGENCY DEF24 ICIT CONTROL ACT OF 1985.—Section 255(g)(1)(A) 

25 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Conmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 trol Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(g)(1)(A)) is amended 

2 by striking ‘‘Exchange Stabilization Fund’’ and in3 serting ‘‘Special Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

4 (2) EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT

5 OF 2008.—The Emergency Economic Stabilization 

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

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

8 Stabilization Fund’’ each place such term ap9 pears in headings and text and inserting ‘‘Spe10 cial Drawing Rights Fund’’; and 

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

12 the table of contents of such Act, by striking 

13 ‘‘Exchange Stabilization Fund’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘Special Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

15 (3) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

16 ACT.—Section 1704 of the International Financial 

17 Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r–3) is amended— 

18 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

19 ‘‘EXCHANGE STABILIZATION FUND’’ and in20 serting ‘‘SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS FUND’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘stabilization fund’’ each 

23 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Special 

24 Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

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1 (4) SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS ACT.—The Spe2 cial Drawing Rights Act (22 U.S.C. 286n et seq.) is 

3 amended by striking ‘‘Exchange Stabilization Fund’’ 

4 each place such term appears in headings and text 

5 and inserting ‘‘Special Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

6 (5) STABILIZING EXCHANGE RATES AND AR7 RANGEMENTS.—Section 5302 of title 31, United 

8 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Exchange Sta9 bilization Fund’’ each place such term appears and 

10 inserting ‘‘Special Drawing Rights Fund’’. 

11 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, regula12 tion, document, paper, or other record of the United 

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

14 deemed a reference to the ‘‘Special Drawing Rights 

15 Fund’’. 

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

17 (a) FUNDS USED TO REDUCE THE DEBT.—The Sec18 retary of the Treasury shall liquidate all property in the 

19 Special Drawing Rights Fund (as so renamed under sec20 tion 503), other than Special Drawing Rights, and use all 

21 such amounts to reduce the public debt. 

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

23 United States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

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

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

3 and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘, and for’’ and all that 

5 follows through the period at the end; and 

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

7 following: 

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

9 RIGHTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

10 only Special Drawing Rights may be deposited into the 

11 Special Drawing Rights Fund.’’. 

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) BRETTON WOODS AGREEMENTS ACT.—Sec14 tion 18 of the Bretton Woods Agreements Act (22 

15 U.S.C. 286e–3) is repealed. 

16 (2) SUPPORT FOR EAST EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY

17 (SEED) ACT OF 1989.—The Support for East Euro18 pean Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 

19 5401 et seq.) is amended— 

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

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

22 the paragraph and inserting ‘‘such as the au23 thority provided in section 102(c) of this Act.’’; 

24 and 

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

2 101(b)—’’ and all that follows through the end 

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

4 should work closely with the European Commu5 nity and international financial institutions to 

6 determine the extent of emergency assistance 

7 required by Poland for the fourth quarter of 

8 1989.’’. 

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

10 would otherwise have been deposited into the Special 

11 Drawing Rights Fund (as so renamed under subsection 

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

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

14 Secretary of the Treasury shall use such funds to reduce 

15 the public debt. 

16 (e) WIND DOWN PERIOD FOR CERTAIN TRANS17 ACTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

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

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

20 Drawing Rights may be deposited and maintained in the 

21 Special Drawing Rights Fund as needed to fulfill any out22 standing obligations on the Fund. 

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1 TITLE VI—CREDIT ALLOCATION 

2 NEUTRALITY ACT 

3 SEC. 601. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) in conducting open market operations, the 

6 Federal Open Market Committee should not allocate 

7 credit among households, firms, and sectors of the 

8 United States economy; and 

9 (2) to assure the credit allocation neutrality of 

10 open market operations among households, firms, 

11 and sectors of the United States economy, the Fed12 eral Open Market Committee should conduct open 

13 market operations in United States Government se14 curities, and repurchase and reverse repurchase 

15 agreements that have a term of 1 year or less, ex16 cept in unusual and exigent circumstances. 

17 SEC. 602. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN NON-EMERGENCY SECU18 RITY PURCHASES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Reserve Act (12 

20 U.S.C. 221 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (1) in section 12A, by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(d) EMERGENCY PURCHASING AUTHORITY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In unusual and exigent cir25 cumstances, the Committee, by the affirmative vote 

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of at least 2 1 ⁄3 of the members of the Committee, may 

2 authorize any Federal Reserve bank, during such pe3 riod as the Committee may determine— 

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

5 bills, notes, revenue bonds, and warrants— 

6 ‘‘(i) with a maturity from the date of 

7 purchase not exceeding 6 months; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) that were issued in anticipation 

9 of the collection of taxes or in anticipation 

10 of the receipt of assured revenues by any 

11 State, county, district, political subdivision, 

12 or municipality in the continental United 

13 States, including irrigation, drainage and 

14 reclamation districts, and obligations of, or 

15 fully guaranteed as to principal and inter16 est by, a foreign government or agency; 

17 and 

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

19 under the direction and regulations of the Com20 mittee, any obligation which is a direct obliga21 tion of, or fully guaranteed as to principal and 

22 interest by, any agency of the United States. 

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

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

25 purchased by a Federal Reserve bank under paramstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 graph (1) shall be disposed of before the end of the 

2 5-year period beginning on the end of the period de3 termined by the Committee under paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 7 days after the 

5 Committee makes an authorization under this sub6 section, the Committee shall provide to the Com7 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 

8 the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services 

9 of the House of Representatives a report that in10 cludes— 

11 ‘‘(A) the justification for providing emer12 gency purchasing authority; 

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

14 whom purchases or sales were made; 

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

16 or sales; and 

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

18 or sales.’’; and 

19 (2) in section 14(b) (12 U.S.C. 355(b))— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘bonds’’ 

21 and all that follows through ‘‘thereof,’’ and in22 serting ‘‘with’’; and 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert24 ing the following: 

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

2 and reverse repurchase agreements that have a term of 

3 1 year or less, in accordance with rules and regulations 

4 prescribed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Re5 serve System.’’. 

6 (b) TRANSITION PROVISION.—Each Federal Reserve 

7 bank that holds bonds, bills, notes, revenue bonds, war8 rants, or other obligations purchased under the authority 

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

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

11 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

12 this Act. 

13 TITLE VII—BUREAU OF CON14 SUMER FINANCIAL PROTEC15 TION FUNDING ACT 

16 SEC. 701. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds that— 

18 (1) as the central bank of the United States, 

19 the Federal Reserve conducts United States mone20 tary policy and necessarily exercises broad oversight 

21 responsibility to ensure the safety, soundness, and 

22 smooth functioning of the banking and payments 

23 systems of the United States; 

24 (2) there exists a broad consensus among pol25 icymakers, academics, and most informed commstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mentators that central bank independence is nec2 essary to the proper and effective conduct of mone3 tary policy and those regulatory activities necessary 

4 for the implementation of such monetary policy; 

5 (3) to preserve the independence of its activi6 ties, the Federal Reserve should remain operation7 ally and financially autonomous within the United 

8 States Government; 

9 (4) those activities that do not relate to the 

10 functions listed in paragraph (1) should not occur 

11 outside of the constitutionally granted authority of 

12 Congress to authorize and oversee the expenditure of 

13 public funds; and 

14 (5) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec15 tion should be subject to the Federal appropriations 

16 process to ensure effective Congressional oversight 

17 over its activities and use of public funds. 

18 SEC. 702. BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

19 FUNDING. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1017 of the Consumer Fi21 nancial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5497) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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1 (A) by amending the heading of such sub2 section to read as follows: ‘‘BUDGET, FINAN3 CIAL MANAGEMENT, AND AUDIT.—’’; 

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

5 (3); 

6 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

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

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

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

10 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

11 (F) as subparagraph (E); 

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

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

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

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

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

17 (3) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated such funds as 

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

21 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

22 paragraph (2). 

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

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

Æ 

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