[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8288 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8288

  To require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to 
    carry out a review of discount window operations, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 2024

   Mr. Barr introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to 
    carry out a review of discount window operations, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bringing the Discount Window into 
the 21st Century Act''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW OF DISCOUNT WINDOW OPERATIONS.

    Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (12) as paragraph (11); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(12) Review of discount window operations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the 
                date of enactment of this paragraph, the Board of 
                Governors shall commence a review of the discount 
                window lending programs of the Federal reserve banks 
                (the `discount window'), and shall complete such review 
                not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of 
                this paragraph.
                    ``(B) Contents.--The review required by 
                subparagraph (A) shall include a consideration of--
                            ``(i) the effectiveness of the discount 
                        window in providing liquidity to financial 
                        institutions, including in times of financial 
                        stress;
                            ``(ii) whether the technology 
                        infrastructure, including means of 
                        communications, are sufficient to support the 
                        timely provision of liquidity, including in 
                        times of financial stress;
                            ``(iii) the effectiveness of cybersecurity 
                        measures;
                            ``(iv) the effectiveness of communications 
                        between Federal reserve banks regarding 
                        discount window operations;
                            ``(v) the effectiveness of the Board of 
                        Governors in providing oversight of the 
                        discount window;
                            ``(vi) how the discount window interacts 
                        with other providers of liquidity, including 
                        the Federal Home Loan Banks, during both normal 
                        operations and times of financial distress; and
                            ``(vii) the effectiveness of existing 
                        discount window operating hours and whether 
                        such hours should be expanded, taking into 
                        account the interaction between discount window 
                        operating hours and the operating hours of 
                        payment systems of the Board of Governors and 
                        Federal reserve banks, such as FedWire and 
                        FedNow.
                    ``(C) Public comment.--In carrying out the review 
                required by subparagraph (A), the Board of Governors 
                shall provide the public with an opportunity to comment 
                on the effectiveness of discount window operations and 
                to offer suggestions for improving operations.
                    ``(D) Remediation plan.--After completing the 
                review required by subparagraph (A) and considering any 
                public comments received pursuant to subparagraph (C), 
                the Board of Governors shall develop, and approve by a 
                vote of the Board of Governors, a written plan to 
                remediate any identified deficiencies or areas for 
                enhancing effectiveness of the discount window, which 
                shall include--
                            ``(i) an identification of actions that the 
                        Board of Governors will take to remediate those 
                        deficiencies;
                            ``(ii) timelines and milestones for 
                        implementing the plan and measures to 
                        demonstrate how the Board of Governors will 
                        maintain implemented improvements on an ongoing 
                        basis; and
                            ``(iii) measures of managing and 
                        controlling deficiencies until the plan is 
                        implemented in full.
                    ``(E) Report to congress on review and plan.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 365 days 
                        after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 
                        the Board of Governors shall, after approval by 
                        a vote of the Board of Governors, submit a 
                        report to the Committee on Financial Services 
                        of the House of Representatives and the 
                        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                        Affairs of the Senate containing--
                                    ``(I) the findings of the review 
                                required by subparagraph (A);
                                    ``(II) the remediation plan 
                                required by subparagraph (D);
                            ``(ii) Consultation.--Before submitting the 
                        report required by clause (i), the Board of 
                        Governors shall--
                                    ``(I) provide a copy of the 
                                proposed report to the Comptroller 
                                General of the United States and the 
                                Inspector General of the Board of 
                                Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
                                and the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
                                Protection; and
                                    ``(II) provide the Comptroller 
                                General and Inspector General with an 
                                opportunity to provide feedback on the 
                                report.
                            ``(iii) Testimony.--The Chairman of the 
                        Board of Governors shall testify before the 
                        Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                        Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
                        Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with 
                        respect to the contents of the report required 
                        under this subparagraph.
                    ``(F) Annual reports to congress.--
                            ``(i) Reports by the board.--The Board of 
                        Governors shall submit an annual report to the 
                        Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                        Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
                        Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 
                        containing a review of the effectiveness of 
                        discount window operations.
                            ``(ii) Reports by the inspector general.--
                        The Inspector General of the Board of Governors 
                        of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of 
                        Consumer Financial Protection shall submit an 
                        annual report to the Committee on Financial 
                        Services of the House of Representatives and 
                        the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                        Affairs of the Senate containing a report on 
                        the progress of the Board of Governors in 
                        implementing the remediation plan required by 
                        subparagraph (D).
                    ``(G) Confidential report information.--Any report 
                required under this paragraph may contain a 
                confidential annex containing information that details 
                any cybersecurity deficiencies or any deficiencies 
                which, if made public, could cause financial 
                instability.''.
                                 <all>