Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act of 2019

To amend the Federal Reserve Act to require Federal Reserve banks to interview at least one individual reflective of gender diversity and one individual reflective of racial or ethnic diversity when appointing Federal Reserve bank presidents, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act of 2019 2. Congressional Findings The Congress finds that— (1) while significant progress has occurred due to the antidiscrimination amendments to the Federal Reserve Act, barriers continue to pose significant obstacles for candidates reflective of gender diversity and racial or ethnic diversity for Federal Reserve bank president positions in the Federal Reserve System; (2) the continuing barriers described in paragraph (1) merit the following amendment; (3) Congress has received and reviewed testimony and documentation of the historical lack of gender, racial, and ethnic diversity from numerous sources, including congressional hearings, scientific reports, reports issued by public and private agencies, news stories, and reports of related barriers by organizations and individuals, which show that race-, ethnicity-, and gender-neutral efforts alone are insufficient to address the problem; (4) the testimony and documentation described in paragraph (3) demonstrate that barriers across the United States prove problematic for full and fair participation in developing monetary policy by individuals reflective of gender diversity and racial or ethnic diversity; and (5) the testimony and documentation described in paragraph (3) provide a strong basis that there is a compelling need for the below amendment to address the historical lack of gender, racial, and ethnic diversity in the Federal Reserve regional bank presidents selection process in the Federal Reserve System. 3. Federal reserve bank presidents The provision designated fifth 12 U.S.C. 341 employees. In making the appointment of a president, the bank shall interview at least one individual reflective of gender diversity and one individual reflective of racial or ethnic diversity. Not later than January 1 of each year, the bank shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a report describing the applicant pool demographic for the preceding fiscal year. 4. Technical adjustments (a) American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 Section 418(b) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 ( 8 U.S.C. 1184 Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (b) Bretton Woods Agreements Act The Bretton Woods Agreements Act ( 22 U.S.C. 286 (1) in section 4(a), by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (2) in section 45(a)(1), by striking chairman of the board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (c) Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ( 12 U.S.C. 5301 Chairman of the Board Chair of the Board (d) Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 ( 12 U.S.C. 5201 Chairman of the Board Chair of the Board (e) Emergency Loan Guarantee Act Section 2 of the Emergency Loan Guarantee Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1841 Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (f) Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee and Emergency Oil and Gas Act of 1999 The Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee and Emergency Oil and Gas Act of 1999 ( 15 U.S.C. 1841 (1) in section 101(e)(2)— (A) by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (B) by striking Chairman, Chair, (2) in section 201(d)(2)(B)— (A) by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (B) by striking Chairman, Chair, (g) Farm Credit Act of 1971 Section 4.9(d)(1)(C) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 ( 12 U.S.C. 2160(d)(1)(C) Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (h) Federal Deposit Insurance Act The Federal Deposit Insurance Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1811 Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (i) Federal Reserve Act The Federal Reserve Act ( 12 U.S.C. 226 (1) by striking chairman chair (2) by striking Chairman Chair (3) in section 2, in the sixth undesignated paragraph— (A) in the second sentence, by striking his the Comptroller of the Currency’s (B) in the third sentence, by striking his the director’s (4) in section 4— (A) in the third undesignated paragraph, by striking his office the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (B) in the fourth undesignated paragraph, in the provision designated fifth his the person’s (C) in the eighth undesignated paragraph, by striking his the chair’s (D) in the seventeenth undesignated paragraph— (i) by striking his the officer’s (ii) by striking he the individual (E) in the twentieth undesignated paragraph— (i) by striking He The chair (ii) in the third sentence— (I) by striking his the (II) by striking he (iii) in the fifth sentence, by striking he the chair (F) in the twenty-first undesignated paragraph, by striking his the agent’s (5) in section 6, in the second undesignated paragraph, by striking he the Comptroller of the Currency (6) in section 9A(c)(2)(C), by striking he the participant (7) in section 10— (A) by striking he the member (B) in the second undesignated paragraph, by striking his the member’s (C) in the fourth undesignated paragraph— (i) in the second sentence, by striking his the chair’s (ii) in the fifth sentence, by striking his the member’s (iii) in the sixth sentence, by striking his the member’s (8) in section 12, by striking his the member’s (9) in section 13, in the eleventh undesignated paragraph, by striking his the assured’s (10) in section 16— (A) by striking he the agent (B) in the seventh undesignated paragraph— (i) by striking his the agent’s (ii) by striking himself the agent (C) in the tenth undesignated paragraph, by striking his the Secretary’s (D) in the fifteenth undesignated paragraph, by striking his the agent’s (11) in section 18, in the eighth undesignated paragraph, by striking he the Secretary of the Treasury (12) in section 22— (A) in subsection (f), by striking his the director’s or officer’s (B) in subsection (g)— (i) in paragraph (1)(D)— (I) by striking him the officer (II) by striking he the officer (ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking him as his the officer as the officer’s (13) in section 25A— (A) in the twelfth undesignated paragraph— (i) by striking he the member (ii) by striking his the member’s (B) in the fourteenth undesignated paragraph, by striking his the director’s or officer’s (C) in the twenty-second undesignated paragraph, by striking his such individual’s (j) Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977 Section 204(b) of the Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977 ( 12 U.S.C. 242 Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair or Vice Chair of the Board of Governors (k) Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 is amended— (1) in section 308 ( 12 U.S.C. 1463 (A) in subsection (a), by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (B) in subsection (c), by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (2) in section 1001(a) ( 12 U.S.C. 1811 Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (3) in section 1205(b)(1)(A) ( 12 U.S.C. 1818 (A) by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (B) by striking Chairman’s Chair’s (l) Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 Section 13106(a) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2 Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (m) Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 Section 1313(a)(3) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 ( 12 U.S.C. 4513(a)(3) (1) in the heading, by striking chairman chair (2) by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (3) by striking Chairman regarding Chair regarding (n) Inspector General Act of 1978 Section 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 is amended by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (o) International Lending Supervision Act of 1983 Section 908(b)(3)(C) of the International Lending Supervision Act of 1983 ( 12 U.S.C. 3907(b)(3)(C) Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (p) Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act Section 604(a)(3) of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 8103(a)(3) Chairman Chair (q) Public Law 93–495 Section 202(a)(1) of Public Law 93–495 12 U.S.C. 2402(a)(1) (1) by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (2) by striking his the Chair’s (r) Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Section 101(e)(4)(A) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ( 15 U.S.C. 7211(e)(4)(A) Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (s) Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Section 17A(f)(4)(C) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(f)(4)(C) Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (t) Title 31 Title 31, United States Code, is amended— (1) in section 1344(b)(7), by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (2) in section 5318A, by striking Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (u) Trade Act of 1974 Section 163(b)(3) of the Trade Act of 1974 ( 19 U.S.C. 2213(b)(3) Chairman of the Board of Governors Chair of the Board of Governors (v) Deeming of name Any reference in a law, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be deemed to be a reference to the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Summary: Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act of 2019 This bill requires that in making the appointment of a president, a Federal Reserve Bank must interview at least one individual reflective of gender diversity and one reflective of racial or ethnic diversity. The bill amends numerous banking-, finance-, and trade-related Acts to make references to officials (including those to the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) gender-neutral.