jerome h powell : “ audit the fed ” and other proposals speech by mr jerome h powell, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the catholic university of america, columbus school of law, washington dc, 9 february 2015. * * * the views expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of other members of the federal open market committee. it is a pleasure and a particularly personal honor for me to speak to you today as a guest of this institution. i am proud to say that my grandfather, james j. hayden, earned his doctorate of law from catholic university and later served as dean of the law school. he was an early scholar of the regulation prompted by a technological innovation that would change the world – aviation. he was, in that sense, someone who looked to the future and wanted to be a part of it. in his years leading the law school, i hope my grandfather could also glimpse the great institution that it would become. it has been a little more than six years since the fall of 2008, when the peak of a severe financial crisis presented the very real threat of a second great depression. the damage was extensive, and for some time, the recovery was frustratingly slow. but the economy has improved considerably over the past two years, and i am optimistic that that this improvement will continue. the financial system is also stronger and more resilient after improvements in regulation and oversight by the federal reserve and other agencies and better management by banks and other financial firms. the fed acted boldly during and after the financial crisis in the face of great uncertainty. the full effects of these policies will become clearer with the passage of time. indeed, the federal reserve ’ s role in the great depression of the 1930s is still actively debated. that said, as i will show, the evidence as of today is very strong that the fed ’ s actions generally succeeded and are a major reason why the u. s. economy is now outperforming those of other advanced nations. other central banks are now embracing some of the same bold steps undertaken much earlier by the fed. against that background, i am concerned about several troubling proposals that would subject monetary policy to undue political pressure and place new limits on the fed ’ s ability to respond to future crises. my remarks will address three such proposals. the first goes by the somewhat misleading name of “ audit the fed, ” and would subject the federal reserve ’ s conduct of monetary policy to unlimited congressional

alan greenspan : monetary policy and economic outlook testimony of mr alan greenspan, chairman of the board of governors of the us federal reserve system, before the joint economic committee, u. s. congress, 17 october 2001. * * * i appreciate this opportunity to appear before the committee to discuss recent developments in the united states economy. despite the tragic events of september 11, the foundations of our free society remain sound, and i am confident that we will recover and prosper as we have in the past. but before the recovery process gets under way, stability will need to be restored to the american economy and to others around the world. arguably, that stability was only barely becoming evident in the united states in the period immediately preceding the act of terrorism. aggregate measures of production, employment, and business spending continued to be weak in august. consumer spending, however, moved higher that month and appeared to be reasonably well maintained in the first part of september. industry analysts suggest that motor vehicle sales were running close to august levels, and chain store sales were only modestly lower. new orders for nondefense capital goods stabilized in august. moreover, the dramatic rate of decline in profits was slowing. to be sure, these signs were tentative but, on the whole, encouraging. in the days following the attack, the level of activity declined significantly. the shock was most evident in consumer markets, as many potential purchasers stayed riveted to their televisions and away from shopping malls. both motor vehicle sales and sales at major chain stores fell off noticeably. the airline and travel industries also suffered severe cutbacks. the unprecedented shutdown of american air travel and tightened border restrictions induced dramatic curtailments of production at some establishments with tight just - in - time supply chain practices, most notably in the motor vehicle industry. as the initial shock began to wear off, economic activity recovered somewhat from the depressed levels that immediately followed the attacks, though the recovery has been uneven. markedly increased incentives induced a sharp rebound in motor vehicle sales by the end of the month that has carried apparently undiminished into the first half of october. however, many retailers of other consumer goods report that sales have only partially retraced the steep drops that occurred in midseptember. fortunately, air freight is largely back to normal. overall airline passenger traffic, while above its mid - september lows, was still off considerably in early october from pre - attack levels. similarly, the hospitality and entertainment industries have overcome