I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5018 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to establish requirements for policy rules 

and blackout periods of the Federal Open Market Committee, to establish 

requirements for certain activities of the Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 7, 2014 

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan (for himself and Mr. GARRETT) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, 

and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to establish requirements 

for policy rules and blackout periods of the Federal Open 

Market Committee, to establish requirements for certain 

activities of the Board of Governors 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 Ac5 countability and Transparency Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICY RULES OF THE FED2 ERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE. 

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

4 U.S.C. 221 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

5 2B the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2C. DIRECTIVE POLICY RULES OF THE FEDERAL 

7 OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following 

9 definitions shall apply: 

10 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’ means the Committee on Financial Services 

13 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

14 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Sen15 ate. 

16 ‘‘(2) DIRECTIVE POLICY RULE.—The term ‘Di17 rective Policy Rule’ means a policy rule developed by 

18 the Federal Open Market Committee that meets the 

19 requirements of subsection (c) and that provides the 

20 basis for the Open Market Operations Directive. 

21 ‘‘(3) GDP.—The term ‘GDP’ means the gross 

22 domestic product of the United States as computed 

23 and published by the Department of Commerce. 

24 ‘‘(4) INTERMEDIATE POLICY INPUT.—The term 

25 ‘Intermediate Policy Input’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) may include any variable determined 

2 by the Federal Open Market Committee as a 

3 necessary input to guide open-market oper4 ations; 

5 ‘‘(B) shall include an estimate of, and the 

6 method of calculation for, the current rate of 

7 inflation or current inflation expectations; and 

8 ‘‘(C) shall include, specifying whether the 

9 variable or estimate is historical, current, or a 

10 forecast and the method of calculation, at least 

11 one of— 

12 ‘‘(i) an estimate of real GDP, nominal 

13 GDP, or potential GDP; 

14 ‘‘(ii) an estimate of the monetary ag15 gregate compiled by the Board of Gov16 ernors of the Federal Reserve System and 

17 Federal reserve banks; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) an interactive variable or a net 

19 estimate composed of the estimates de20 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii). 

21 ‘‘(5) LEGISLATIVE DAY.—The term ‘legislative 

22 day’ means a day on which either House of Congress 

23 is in session. 

24 ‘‘(6) OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS DIRECTIVE.— 

25 The term ‘Open Market Operations Directive’ means 


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1 an order to achieve a specified Policy Instrument 

2 Target provided to the Federal Reserve Bank of 

3 New York by the Federal Open Market Committee 

4 pursuant to powers authorized under section 14 of 

5 this Act that guide open-market operations. 

6 ‘‘(7) POLICY INSTRUMENT.—The term ‘Policy 

7 Instrument’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) the nominal Federal funds rate; 

9 ‘‘(B) the nominal rate of interest paid on 

10 nonborrowed reserves; or 

11 ‘‘(C) the discount window primary credit 

12 interest rate most recently published on the 

13 Federal Reserve Statistical Release on selected 

14 interest rates (daily or weekly), commonly re15 ferred to as the H.15 release. 

16 ‘‘(8) POLICY INSTRUMENT TARGET.—The term 

17 ‘Policy Instrument Target’ means the target for the 

18 Policy Instrument specified in the Open Market Op19 erations Directive. 

20 ‘‘(9) REFERENCE POLICY RULE.—The term 

21 ‘Reference Policy Rule’ means a calculation of the 

22 nominal Federal funds rate as equal to the sum of 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) The rate of inflation over the pre25 vious four quarters. 


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1 ‘‘(B) One-half of the percentage deviation 

2 of the real GDP from an estimate of potential 

3 GDP. 

4 ‘‘(C) One-half of the difference between the 

5 rate of inflation over the previous four quarters 

6 and two. 

7 ‘‘(D) Two. 

8 ‘‘(b) SUBMITTING A DIRECTIVE POLICY RULE.—Not 

9 later than 48 hours after the end of a meeting of the Fed10 eral Open Market Committee, the Chairman of the Fed11 eral Open Market Committee shall submit to the appro12 priate congressional committees and the Comptroller Gen13 eral of the United States a Directive Policy Rule and a 

14 statement that identifies the members of the Federal Open 

15 Market Committee who voted in favor of the Rule. 

16 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR A DIRECTIVE POLICY

17 RULE.—A Directive Policy Rule shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) identify the Policy Instrument the Direc19 tive Policy Rule is designed to target; 

20 ‘‘(2) describe the strategy or rule of the Federal 

21 Open Market Committee for the systematic quan22 titative adjustment of the Policy Instrument Target 

23 to respond to a change in the Intermediate Policy 

24 Inputs; 


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1 ‘‘(3) include a function that comprehensively 

2 models the interactive relationship between the In3 termediate Policy Inputs; 

4 ‘‘(4) include the coefficients of the Directive 

5 Policy Rule that generate the current Policy Instru6 ment Target and a range of predicted future values 

7 for the Policy Instrument Target if changes occur in 

8 any Intermediate Policy Input; 

9 ‘‘(5) describe the procedure for adjusting the 

10 supply of bank reserves to achieve the Policy Instru11 ment Target; 

12 ‘‘(6) include a statement as to whether the Di13 rective Policy Rule substantially conforms to the 

14 Reference Policy Rule and, if applicable— 

15 ‘‘(A) an explanation of the extent to which 

16 it departs from the Reference Policy Rule; 

17 ‘‘(B) a detailed justification for that depar18 ture; and 

19 ‘‘(C) a description of the circumstances 

20 under which the Directive Policy Rule may be 

21 amended in the future; 

22 ‘‘(7) include a certification that such Rule is ex23 pected to support the economy in achieving stable 

24 prices and maximum natural employment over the 

25 long term; and 


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1 ‘‘(8) include a calculation that describes with 

2 mathematical precision the expected annual inflation 

3 rate over a 5-year period. 

4 ‘‘(d) GAO REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 

5 United States shall compare the Directive Policy Rule sub6 mitted under subsection (b) with the rule that was most 

7 recently submitted to determine whether the Directive Pol8 icy Rule has materially changed. If the Directive Policy 

9 Rule has materially changed, the Comptroller General 

10 shall, not later than 7 days after each meeting of the Fed11 eral Open Market Committee, conduct an audit of the 

12 Rule and submit a report to the appropriate congressional 

13 committees specifying whether the Rule submitted after 

14 that meeting and the Federal Open Market Committee are 

15 in compliance with this section. 

16 ‘‘(e) CHANGING MARKET CONDITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

18 this Act shall be construed to require that the plans 

19 with respect to the systematic quantitative adjust20 ment of the Policy Instrument Target described 

21 under subsection (c)(2) be implemented if the Fed22 eral Open Market Committee determines that such 

23 plans cannot or should not be achieved due to 

24 changing market conditions. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GAO APPROVAL OF UPDATE.—Upon deter2 mining that plans described in paragraph (1) cannot 

3 or should not be achieved, the Federal Open Market 

4 Committee shall submit an explanation for that de5 termination and an updated version of the Directive 

6 Policy Rule to the Comptroller General of the 

7 United States and the appropriate congressional 

8 committees not later than 48 hours after making the 

9 determination. The Comptroller General shall, not 

10 later than 48 hours after receiving such updated 

11 version, conduct an audit and issue a report deter12 mining whether such updated version and the Fed13 eral Open Market Committee are in compliance with 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(f) DIRECTIVE POLICY RULE AND FEDERAL OPEN

16 MARKET COMMITTEE NOT IN COMPLIANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Comptroller General 

18 of the United States determines that the Directive 

19 Policy Rule and the Federal Open Market Com20 mittee are not in compliance with this section in the 

21 report submitted pursuant to subsection (d), or that 

22 the updated version of the Directive Policy Rule and 

23 the Federal Open Market Committee are not in com24 pliance with this section in the report submitted pur25 suant to subsection (e)(2), the Chairman of the 


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1 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

2 shall, not later than 7 legislative days after the date 

3 of submission of such a report, testify before the ap4 propriate congressional committees as to why the 

5 Directive Policy Rule, the updated version, or the 

6 Federal Open Market Committee is not in compli7 ance. 

8 ‘‘(2) GAO AUDIT.—Notwithstanding subsection 

9 (b) of section 714 of title 31, United States Code, 

10 upon submitting a report of noncompliance pursuant 

11 to subsection (d) or subsection (e)(2) and after the 

12 period of 7 legislative days described in paragraph 

13 (1), the Comptroller General shall audit the conduct 

14 of monetary policy by the Board of Governors of the 

15 Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Mar16 ket Committee upon request of the appropriate con17 gressional committee. Such committee may specify 

18 the parameters of such audit. 

19 ‘‘(g) CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS.—The Chairman of 

20 the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

21 shall, if requested by either of the appropriate congres22 sional committees and not later than 7 legislative days 

23 after such request, appear before such committee to ex24 plain any change to the Directive Policy Rule.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The second sen2 tence of subsection (b) of section 714 of title 31, United 

3 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Audits’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘Except as provided in section 2C(f) of the Federal 

5 Reserve Act, audits’’. 

6 SEC. 3. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE BLACKOUT 

7 PERIOD. 

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

9 263) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 subsection: 

11 ‘‘(d) BLACKOUT PERIOD.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During a blackout period, 

13 the only public communications that may be made 

14 by members and staff of the Committee with respect 

15 to macroeconomic or financial developments or about 

16 current or prospective monetary policy issues are the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(A) The dissemination of published data, 

19 surveys, and reports that have been cleared for 

20 publication by the Board of Governors of the 

21 Federal Reserve System. 

22 ‘‘(B) Answers to technical questions spe23 cific to a data release. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Communications with respect to the 

2 prudential or supervisory functions of the 

3 Board of Governors. 

4 ‘‘(2) BLACKOUT PERIOD DEFINED.—For pur5 poses of this subsection, and with respect to a meet6 ing of the Committee described under subsection (a), 

7 the term ‘blackout period’ means the time period 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) begins immediately after midnight on 

10 the day that is one week prior to the date on 

11 which such meeting takes place; and 

12 ‘‘(B) ends at midnight on the day after the 

13 date on which such meeting takes place.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR STRESS TESTS AND SUPER15 VISORY LETTERS FOR THE BOARD OF GOV16 ERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. 

17 (a) STRESS TEST RULEMAKING, GAO REVIEW, AND

18 PUBLICATION OF RESULTS.—Section 165(i)(1)(B) of the 

19 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protec20 tion Act (12 U.S.C. 5365(i)(1)(B)) is amended— 

21 (1) by amending clause (i) to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) issue regulations, after pro24 viding for public notice and comment, 

25 that provide for at least 3 different 


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1 sets of conditions under which the 

2 evaluation required by this subsection 

3 shall be conducted, including baseline, 

4 adverse, and severely adverse, and 

5 methodologies, including models used 

6 to estimate losses on certain assets; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(II) provide copies of such regu9 lations to the Comptroller General of 

10 the United States and the Panel of 

11 Economic Advisors of the Congres12 sional Budget Office before publishing 

13 such regulations;’’; and 

14 (2) in clause (v), by inserting before the period 

15 the following: ‘‘, including any results of a resub16 mitted test’’. 

17 (b) PUBLICATION OF THE NUMBER OF SUPERVISORY

18 LETTERS SENT TO THE LARGEST BANK HOLDING COM19 PANIES.—Section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Re20 form and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5365) is 

21 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

22 subsection: 

23 ‘‘(l) PUBLICATION OF SUPERVISORY LETTER INFOR24 MATION.—The Board of Governors shall publicly dis25 close— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the aggregate number of supervisory let2 ters sent to bank holding companies described in 

3 subsection (a) since the date of the enactment of 

4 this section, and keep such number updated; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the aggregate number of such letters that 

6 are designated as ‘Matters Requiring Attention’ and 

7 the aggregate number of such letters that are des8 ignated as ‘Matters Requiring Immediate Atten9 tion’.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. FREQUENCY OF TESTIMONY OF THE CHAIRMAN OF 

11 THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FED12 ERAL RESERVE SYSTEM TO CONGRESS. 

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

14 Act (12 U.S.C. 225b) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘semi-annual’’ each place it ap16 pears and inserting ‘‘quarterly’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (a)(2)— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘and October 20’’ after 

19 ‘‘July 20’’ each place it appears; and 

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘and May 20’’ after 

21 ‘‘February 20’’ each place it appears. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (12) of 

23 section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 

24 247b(12)) is amended by striking ‘‘semi-annual’’ and in25 serting ‘‘quarterly’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. VICE CHAIRMAN FOR SUPERVISION REPORT RE2 QUIREMENT. 

3 Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para5 graph (11); and 

6 (2) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated, by 

7 adding at the end the following: ‘‘In each such ap8 pearance, the Vice Chairman for Supervision shall 

9 provide written testimony that includes the status of 

10 all pending and anticipated rulemakings that are 

11 being made by the Board of Governors of the Fed12 eral Reserve System. If, at the time of any appear13 ance described in this paragraph, the position of 

14 Vice Chairman for Supervision is vacant, the Vice 

15 Chairman for the Board of Governors of the Federal 

16 Reserve System (who has the responsibility to serve 

17 in the absence of the Chairman) shall appear instead 

18 and provide the required written testimony. If, at 

19 the time of any appearance described in this para20 graph, both Vice Chairman positions are vacant, the 

21 Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal 

22 Reserve System shall appear instead and provide the 

23 required written testimony.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF REGULATIONS OF THE 

2 BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RE3 SERVE SYSTEM. 

4 Section 11 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 

5 248) is amended by inserting after subsection (l) the fol6 lowing new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(m) CONSIDERATION OF ECONOMIC IMPACTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before issuing any regula9 tion, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

10 System shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) clearly identify the nature and source 

12 of the problem that the proposed regulation is 

13 designed to address, assess the significance of 

14 that problem, and assess whether any new regu15 lation is warranted; 

16 ‘‘(B) assess the qualitative and quan17 titative costs and benefits of the proposed regu18 lation and propose or adopt a regulation only 

19 on a reasoned determination that the benefits 

20 of the proposed regulation outweigh the costs of 

21 the regulation; 

22 ‘‘(C) identify and assess available alter23 natives to the proposed regulation that were 

24 considered, including any alternative offered by 

25 a member of the Board of Governors of the 

26 Federal Reserve System or the Federal Open 


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1 Market Committee and including any modifica2 tion of an existing regulation, together with an 

3 explanation of why the regulation meets the 

4 regulatory objectives more effectively than the 

5 alternatives; and 

6 ‘‘(D) ensure that any proposed regulation 

7 is accessible, consistent, written in plain lan8 guage, and easy to understand and shall meas9 ure, and seek to improve, the actual results of 

10 regulatory requirements. 

11 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS AND ACTIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED ACTIONS.—In deciding 

13 whether and how to regulate, the Board shall 

14 assess the costs and benefits of available regu15 latory alternatives, including the alternative of 

16 not regulating, and choose the approach that 

17 maximizes net benefits. Specifically, the Board 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) evaluate whether, consistent with 

20 achieving regulatory objectives, the regula21 tion is tailored to impose the least impact 

22 on the availability of credit and economic 

23 growth and to impose the least burden on 

24 society, including market participants, in25 dividuals, businesses of different sizes, and 


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1 other entities (including State and local 

2 governmental entities), taking into ac3 count, to the extent practicable, the cumu4 lative costs of regulations; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) evaluate whether the regulation 

6 is inconsistent, incompatible, or duplicative 

7 of other Federal regulations. 

8 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

9 addition, in making a reasoned determination of 

10 the costs and benefits of a proposed regulation, 

11 the Board shall, to the extent that each is rel12 evant to the particular proposed regulation, 

13 take into consideration the impact of the regu14 lation, including secondary costs such as an in15 crease in the cost or a reduction in the avail16 ability of credit or investment services or prod17 ucts, on— 

18 ‘‘(i) the safety and soundness of the 

19 United States banking system; 

20 ‘‘(ii) market liquidity in securities 

21 markets; 

22 ‘‘(iii) small businesses; 

23 ‘‘(iv) community banks; 

24 ‘‘(v) economic growth; 

25 ‘‘(vi) cost and access to capital; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) market stability; 

2 ‘‘(viii) global competitiveness; 

3 ‘‘(ix) job creation; 

4 ‘‘(x) the effectiveness of the monetary 

5 policy transmission mechanism; and 

6 ‘‘(xi) employment levels. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXPLANATION AND COMMENTS.—The 

8 Board shall explain in its final rule the nature of 

9 comments that it received and shall provide a re10 sponse to those comments in its final rule, including 

11 an explanation of any changes that were made in re12 sponse to those comments and the reasons that the 

13 Board did not incorporate concerns related to the 

14 potential costs or benefits in the final rule. 

15 ‘‘(4) POSTADOPTION IMPACT ASSESSMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Board 

17 adopts or amends a regulation designated as a 

18 ‘major rule’ within the meaning of section 

19 804(2) of title 5, United States Code, it shall 

20 state, in its adopting release, the following: 

21 ‘‘(i) The purposes and intended con22 sequences of the regulation. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The assessment plan that will be 

24 used, consistent with the requirements of 

25 subparagraph (B), to assess whether the 


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1 regulation has achieved the stated pur2 poses. 

3 ‘‘(iii) Appropriate postimplementation 

4 quantitative and qualitative metrics to 

5 measure the economic impact of the regu6 lation and the extent to which the regula7 tion has accomplished the stated purpose 

8 of the regulation. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Any reasonably foreseeable indi10 rect effects that may result from the regu11 lation. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS OF ASSESSMENT

13 PLAN AND REPORT.— 

14 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS OF PLAN.—The 

15 assessment plan required under this para16 graph shall consider the costs, benefits, 

17 and intended and unintended consequences 

18 of the regulation. The plan shall specify 

19 the data to be collected, the methods for 

20 collection and analysis of the data, and a 

21 date for completion of the assessment. The 

22 assessment plan shall include an analysis 

23 of any jobs added or lost as a result of the 

24 regulation, differentiating between public 

25 and private sector jobs. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION

2 OF REPORT.—The Board shall, not later 

3 than 2 years after the publication of the 

4 adopting release, publish the assessment 

5 plan in the Federal Register for notice and 

6 comment. If the Board determines, at least 

7 90 days before the deadline for publication 

8 of the assessment plan, that an extension 

9 is necessary, the Board shall publish a no10 tice of such extension and the specific rea11 sons why the extension is necessary in the 

12 Federal Register. Any material modifica13 tion of the assessment plan, as necessary 

14 to assess unforeseen aspects or con15 sequences of the regulation, shall be 

16 promptly published in the Federal Register 

17 for notice and comment. 

18 ‘‘(iii) DATA COLLECTION NOT SUB19 JECT TO NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIRE20 MENTS.—If the Board has published the 

21 assessment plan for notice and comment at 

22 least 30 days before the adoption of a reg23 ulation designated as a major rule, the col24 lection of data under the assessment plan 

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1 ment requirements in section 3506(c) of 

2 title 44, United States Code (commonly re3 ferred to as the Paperwork Reduction Act). 

4 Any material modification of the plan that 

5 requires collection of data not previously 

6 published for notice and comment shall 

7 also be exempt from such requirements if 

8 the Board has published notice in the Fed9 eral Register for comment on the addi10 tional data to be collected, at least 30 days 

11 before the initiation of data collection. 

12 ‘‘(iv) FINAL ACTION.—Not later than 

13 180 days after publication of the assess14 ment plan in the Federal Register, the 

15 Board shall issue for notice and comment 

16 a proposal to amend or rescind the regula17 tion, or shall publish a notice that the 

18 Board has determined that no action will 

19 be taken on the regulation. Such a notice 

20 will be deemed a final agency action. 

21 ‘‘(5) COVERED REGULATIONS AND OTHER AC22 TIONS.—Solely as used in this subsection, the term 

23 ‘regulation’— 

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1 plement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy, or 

2 to describe the procedure or practice require3 ments of the Board of Governors, including 

4 rules, orders of general applicability, interpre5 tive releases, and other statements of general 

6 applicability that the Board of Governors in7 tends to have the force and effect of law; and 

8 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

9 ‘‘(i) a regulation issued in accordance 

10 with the formal rulemaking provisions of 

11 section 556 or 557 of title 5, United States 

12 Code; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a regulation that is limited to the 

14 organization, management, or personnel 

15 matters of the Board of Governors; 

16 ‘‘(iii) a regulation promulgated pursu17 ant to statutory authority that expressly 

18 prohibits compliance with this provision; or 

19 ‘‘(iv) a regulation that is certified by 

20 the Board of Governors to be an emer21 gency action, if such certification is pub22 lished in the Federal Register.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. SALARIES, FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES, AND OFFICE 

2 STAFF OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF 

3 THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11 of the Federal Reserve 

5 Act (12 U.S.C. 248) is further amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (s) 

7 (relating to assessments, fees, and other charges for 

8 certain companies) as subsection (t); and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub10 sections: 

11 ‘‘(u) ETHICS STANDARDS FOR MEMBERS AND EM12 PLOYEES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITED AND RESTRICTED FINANCIAL

14 INTERESTS AND TRANSACTIONS.—The members and 

15 employees of the Board of Governors of the Federal 

16 Reserve System shall be subject to the provisions 

17 under section 4401.102 of title 5, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations, to the same extent as such provisions 

19 apply to an employee of the Securities and Exchange 

20 Commission. 

21 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF BROKERAGE ACCOUNTS

22 AND AVAILABILITY OF ACCOUNT STATEMENTS.—The 

23 members and employees of the Board of Governors 

24 of the Federal Reserve System shall— 

25 ‘‘(A) disclose all brokerage accounts that 

26 they maintain, as well as those in which they 


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1 control trading or have a financial interest (in2 cluding managed accounts, trust accounts, in3 vestment club accounts, and the accounts of 

4 spouses or minor children who live with the 

5 member or employee); and 

6 ‘‘(B) with respect to any securities account 

7 that the member or employee is required to dis8 close to the Board of Governors, authorize their 

9 brokers and dealers to send duplicate account 

10 statements directly to Board of Governors. 

11 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITIONS RELATED TO OUTSIDE EM12 PLOYMENT AND ACTIVITIES.—The members and em13 ployees of the Board of Governors of the Federal 

14 Reserve System shall be subject to the prohibitions 

15 related to outside employment and activities de16 scribed under section 4401.103(c) of title 5, Code of 

17 Federal Regulations, to the same extent as such pro18 hibitions apply to an employee of the Securities and 

19 Exchange Commission. 

20 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ETHICS STANDARDS.—The 

21 members and employees of the Board of Governors 

22 of the Federal Reserve System shall be subject to— 

23 ‘‘(A) the employee responsibilities and con24 duct regulations of the Office of Personnel 


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1 Management under part 735 of title 5, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations; 

3 ‘‘(B) the canons of ethics contained in sub4 part C of part 200 of title 17, Code of Federal 

5 Regulations, to the same extent as such subpart 

6 applies to the employees of the Securities and 

7 Exchange Commission; and 

8 ‘‘(C) the regulations concerning the con9 duct of members and employees and former 

10 members and employees contained in subpart M 

11 of part 200 of title 17, Code of Federal Regula12 tions, to the same extent as such subpart ap13 plies to the employees of the Securities and Ex14 change Commission. 

15 ‘‘(v) DISCLOSURE OF STAFF SALARIES AND FINAN16 CIAL INFORMATION.—The Board of Governors of the Fed17 eral Reserve System shall make publicly available, on the 

18 website of the Board of Governors, a searchable database 

19 that contains the names of all members, officers, and em20 ployees of the Board of Governors and each Federal re21 serve bank who receive an annual salary in excess of the 

22 annual rate of basic pay for GS–15 of the General Sched23 ule, and— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the yearly salary information for such indi2 viduals, along with any nonsalary compensation re3 ceived by such individuals; and 

4 ‘‘(2) any financial disclosures required to be 

5 made by such individuals.’’. 

6 (b) OFFICE STAFF FOR EACH MEMBER OF THE

7 BOARD OF GOVERNORS.—Subsection (l) of section 11 of 

8 the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Each member of the 

10 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System may 

11 employ, at a minimum, 2 individuals, with such individuals 

12 selected by such member and the salaries of such individ13 uals set by such member. A member may employ addi14 tional individuals as determined necessary by the Board 

15 of Governors.’’. 

16 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIA17 TIONS. 

18 (a) BOARD OF GOVERNORS REQUIREMENTS.—Sec19 tion 11 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248), as 

20 amended by section 8 of this Act, is further amended by 

21 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(w) INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF NEGOTIATIONS; CONSULTA24 TION.—At least 90 calendar days before any mem25 ber or employee of the Board of Governors of the 


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1 Federal Reserve System enters into negotiations 

2 with any foreign or multinational entity, the Board 

3 of Governors shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) issue a notice of negotiations to the 

5 Committee on Financial Services of the House 

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Bank7 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

8 ‘‘(B) make such notice available to the 

9 public, including on the website of the Board of 

10 Governors; and 

11 ‘‘(C) solicit public comment, and consult 

12 with the committees described under subpara13 graph (A), with respect to the topic matter, 

14 scope, and goals of the negotiations. 

15 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC REPORTS ON NEGOTIATIONS.— 

16 After the end of any negotiation described under 

17 paragraph (1), the Board of Governors shall issue a 

18 public report on the topics that were discussed at 

19 the negotiation and any new or revised rulemakings 

20 or policy changes that the Board of Governors be21 lieves should be implemented as a result of the nego22 tiations. 

23 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF AGREEMENTS; CONSULTA24 TION.—At least 90 calendar days before any mem25 ber or employee of the Board of Governors of the 


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1 Federal Reserve System enters into any agreement 

2 with any foreign or multinational entity, the Board 

3 of Governors shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) issue a notice of agreement to the 

5 Committee on Financial Services of the House 

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Bank7 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

8 ‘‘(B) make such notice available to the 

9 public, including on the website of the Board of 

10 Governors; and 

11 ‘‘(C) consult with such committees with re12 spect to the nature of the agreement and any 

13 anticipated effects such agreement will have on 

14 the economy.’’. 

15 (b) FDIC REQUIREMENTS.—The Federal Deposit 

16 Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 50. INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS. 

19 ‘‘(a) NOTICE OF NEGOTIATIONS; CONSULTATION.— 

20 At least 90 calendar days before the Board of Directors 

21 enters into negotiations with any foreign or multinational 

22 entity, the Board of Directors shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) issue a notice of negotiations to the Com24 mittee on Financial Services of the House of RepVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:49 Jul 09, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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1 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Hous2 ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

3 ‘‘(2) make such notice available to the public, 

4 including on the website of the Corporation; and 

5 ‘‘(3) solicit public comment, and consult with 

6 the committees described under paragraph (1), with 

7 respect to the topic matter, scope, and goals of the 

8 negotiations. 

9 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC REPORTS ON NEGOTIATIONS.—After 

10 the end of any negotiation described under subsection (a), 

11 the Board of Directors shall issue a public report on the 

12 topics that were discussed at the negotiation and any new 

13 or revised rulemakings or policy changes that the Board 

14 of Directors believes should be implemented as a result 

15 of the negotiations. 

16 ‘‘(c) NOTICE OF AGREEMENTS; CONSULTATION.—At 

17 least 90 calendar days before the Board of Directors en18 ters into any agreement with any foreign or multinational 

19 entity, the Board of Directors shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) issue a notice of agreement to the Com21 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Rep22 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Hous23 ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

24 ‘‘(2) make such notice available to the public, 

25 including on the website of the Corporation; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) consult with such committees with respect 

2 to the nature of the agreement and any anticipated 

3 effects such agreement will have on the economy.’’. 

4 (c) TREASURY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 325 of title 

5 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF NEGOTIATIONS; CONSULTA9 TION.—At least 90 calendar days before the Sec10 retary enters into negotiations with any foreign or 

11 multinational entity, the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) issue a notice of negotiations to the 

13 Committee on Financial Services of the House 

14 of Representatives and the Committee on Bank15 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

16 ‘‘(B) make such notice available to the 

17 public, including on the website of the Depart18 ment of the Treasury; and 

19 ‘‘(C) solicit public comment, and consult 

20 with the committees described under subpara21 graph (A), with respect to the topic matter, 

22 scope, and goals of the negotiations. 

23 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC REPORTS ON NEGOTIATIONS.— 

24 After the end of any negotiation described under 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall issue a public reVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:49 Jul 09, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5018.IH H5018

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1 port on the topics that were discussed at the nego2 tiation and any new or revised rulemakings or policy 

3 changes that the Secretary believes should be imple4 mented as a result of the negotiations. 

5 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF AGREEMENTS; CONSULTA6 TION.—At least 90 calendar days before the Sec7 retary enters into any agreement with any foreign or 

8 multinational entity, the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) issue a notice of agreement to the 

10 Committee on Financial Services of the House 

11 of Representatives and the Committee on Bank12 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

13 ‘‘(B) make such notice available to the 

14 public, including on the website of the Depart15 ment of the Treasury; and 

16 ‘‘(C) consult with such committees with re17 spect to the nature of the agreement and any 

18 anticipated effects such agreement will have on 

19 the economy.’’. 

Æ 


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