i ’ ll close with a discussion of my dissents on recent fomc decisions. after that, i ’ ll be pleased to answer any questions you may have. and before i begin, i should remind you that my comments here today reflect my views alone and not necessarily those of others in the federal reserve system, including my fomc colleagues. the federal reserve bank of minneapolis is one of 12 regional reserve banks that, along with the board of governors in washington, d. c., make up the federal reserve system. our bank represents the ninth of the 12 federal reserve districts, and by area, we ’ re the second largest – thanks in no small part to the great state of montana. our district also includes the dakotas, minnesota, northwestern wisconsin and the upper peninsula of michigan. eight times per year, the fomc meets to set the path of monetary policy over the next six to seven weeks. all 12 presidents of the various regional federal reserve banks – including me – and the seven governors of the federal reserve board, including chairman bernanke, contribute to these deliberations. ( currently, there are only five governors – two positions are unfilled. ) however, the committee itself consists only of the governors, the president of the federal reserve bank of new york and a group of four other presidents that rotates annually. right now, that last group consists of the presidents from the minneapolis, philadelphia, dallas and chicago federal reserve banks. bis central bankers ’ speeches i ’ ve said that the fomc meets ( at least ) eight times per year. but how do these meetings work? at a typical meeting, there are two so - called go - rounds, in which every president and every governor has the opportunity to speak without interruption. the first of these is referred to as the economics go - round. it is kicked off by a presentation on current economic conditions by federal reserve staff economists. then, the presidents and governors describe their individual views on current economic conditions and their respective outlooks for future economic conditions. the presidents typically start by providing information about their district ’ s local economic performance. we get that information from our research staffs, but also from our interactions with business and community leaders in industries and towns from across our districts. the chairman speaks at the end of the first go - round. he briefly but thoroughly summarizes the preceding 16 perspectives. i can assure you that this is no easy task – and the chairman ’ s balanced and

. ( currently, there are only five governors – two positions are unfilled. ) however, the committee itself consists only of the governors, the president of the federal reserve bank of new york and a group of four other presidents that rotates annually. right now, that last group consists of the presidents from the minneapolis, philadelphia, dallas and chicago federal reserve banks. i ’ ve said that the fomc meets ( at least ) eight times per year. but how do these meetings work? at a typical meeting, there are two so - called go - rounds, in which every president and every governor has the opportunity to speak without interruption. the first of these is referred to as the economics go - round. it is kicked off by a presentation on current economic conditions by federal reserve staff economists. then the presidents and governors describe their individual views on current economic conditions and their respective outlooks for future economic conditions. the presidents typically start by providing information about their district ’ s local economic performance. we get that information from our research staffs, but also from our interactions with business and community leaders in industries and towns from across our districts. bis central bankers ’ speeches the committee next turns to the second go - round, which focuses on policy. again, the staff begins, with a presentation of policy options. after that, each of the 17 meeting participants has a chance to speak on what each views as the appropriate policy choice. this set of remarks is followed with a summary by the chairman, in which he lays out what he sees as the committee ’ s consensus view for future policy. the voting members of the fomc then cast their votes on this policy statement and thereby set monetary policy for the next six to seven weeks. my description of an fomc meeting highlights how the structure of the fomc mirrors the federalist structure of our government. representatives from different regions of the country – the various presidents – have input into fomc deliberations. and, as i ’ ve described, their input relies critically on information received from district residents. in this way, the federal reserve system is deliberately designed to give the residents of main street a voice in national monetary policy. fomc objectives i ’ ve said that fomc participants seek to adopt what they view as the appropriate policy choice. that provides a natural segue into my next topic : the policy objectives of the fomc. the fomc has a dual mandate, established by congress : to set