I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4278 
To ensure that the operations of the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System remain independent from the credit policy of the United 
States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 7, 2017 
Mr. HILL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To ensure that the operations of the Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System remain independent from 
the credit policy of the United States, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Independence from 
Credit Policy Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. INDEPENDENCE FROM CREDIT POLICY. 
(a) RETURNING TO A MONETARY POLICY BALANCE 
SHEET.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act— 
(A) the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System shall transfer to the Depart-
ment of the Treasury all covered assets that are 
neither gold stock, Treasury currency, nor di-
rect obligations of the United States, foreign 
central banks, or the International Monetary 
Fund; and 
(B) the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transfer to the Federal reserve banks direct ob-
ligations of the United States of equivalent 
market value to such covered assets. 
(2) COVERED ASSETS DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘‘covered assets’’ means all as-
sets— 
(A) purchased through open-market oper-
ations by the Federal reserve banks; or 
(B) acquired through transactions under 
the following sections of the Federal Reserve 
Act (12 U.S.C. 221 et seq.): 
(i) Section 10A before the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(ii) Section 10B. 
(iii) Section 13. 
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(iv) Section 13A. 
(v) Section 24. 
(b) OPEN MARKET ASSET PURCHASES.—Section 
14(b) (12 U.S.C. 355) of the Federal Reserve Act (relat-
ing to ‘‘Purchase and sale of obligations of United States, 
States, counties, etc.’’) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) To buy and sell in the open market, at home 
or abroad, under the direction and regulations of the Fed-
eral Open Market Committee, gold stock, Treasury cur-
rency, or direct obligations of the United States, foreign 
central banks, or the International Monetary Fund. Noth-
ing in this subsection shall be construed to limit advances 
under section 10B, or discount loans under sections 13, 
13A, or 24.’’. 
(c) MAINTAINING A MONETARY POLICY BALANCE 
SHEET.— 
(1) ASSETS
ACQUIRED
UNDER
EMERGENCY 
LENDING.—Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve 
Act (12 U.S.C. 343(3)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(F) Not later than 1 year after a Federal 
reserve bank acquires any assets under this 
paragraph that are neither gold nor direct obli-
gations of the United States, foreign central 
banks, or the International Monetary Fund— 
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‘‘(i) the Board shall transfer such as-
sets of the Federal reserve bank to the De-
partment of the Treasury; and 
‘‘(ii) the Secretary of the Treasury 
shall transfer to the Federal reserve banks 
direct obligations of the United States of 
equivalent market value to the assets de-
scribed in clause (i).’’. 
(2) REPEAL OF AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMER-
GENCY ADVANCES TO GROUPS OF MEMBER BANKS.— 
Section 10A of the Federal Reserve Act is repealed. 
(3) ASSETS ACQUIRED THROUGH ADVANCES TO 
MEMBER
BANKS.—The second undesignated para-
graph of subsection (a) of section 10B of the Fed-
eral Reserve Act is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘not’’ before ‘‘secured by 
mortgage loans’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘lowest discount rate’’ and 
inserting ‘‘highest discount rate’’. 
Æ 
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