[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 35 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E434-E435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       SUPPORT SUNSHINE ON THE FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE ACT

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                        HON. JAMES A. TRAFICANT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 24, 1995
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, recently the Chairman of the Federal 
Reserve, Alan Greenspan, announced that transcripts of their Federal 
Open Market Committee [FOMC] meetings will be disclosed to the public--
after 30 days.
  Enough is enough. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor my ``Sunshine on 
the Federal Open Market Committee Act,'' which will apply the 
Government-in-the-Sunshine Act to FOMC meetings.
  As you know, Mr. Speaker, the ``Fed'' is charged with duty of not 
only conducting the day-to-day banking for the entire Nation, but 
regulating the economy through the formulation of monetary policy. 
Needless to say, it wields immense power. In a typical month, it pumps 
anywhere between $1 billion and $4 billion into the economy while 
dangling the threat of higher interest rates over the American public. 
Even more intimidating, Mr. Speaker, is that half of all the banks in 
the country are members of the Federal Reserve System while all 
national banks must belong. All told, the Fed has holdings of over $300 
billion--accounting for 7 percent of the national debt.
  [[Page E435]] The entity within the Fed responsible for determining 
the country's monetary policy is the FOMC, which consists of the 7 
member board of governors and 5 of the 12 district bank presidents. The 
FOMC meets every 6 weeks but, unfortunately for the general public, 
they meet in relative secrecy. I say relative because, in the wake of a 
FOMC meeting, members of the committee give speeches to business groups 
where, with a wink and a nod, they reveal specifics of the new policy. 
Meanwhile, the ordinary American gets a convoluted synopsis of the 
policy immediately after the meeting, an edited transcript 6 weeks 
later, and the full story 30 years later. It is time to open these 
meetings up to all.
  Mr. Speaker, the Government-in-the-Sunshine Act, passed in 1976 to 
increase accountability of over 50 Federal agencies, opens closed 
meetings to private scrutiny. It requires that ``every portion of every 
meeting of an agency'' that is ``headed by a collegial body'' must be 
``open to public observation.'' There are exceptions to the law, 
however, and the Fed has massaged the English language to the point 
where the Supreme Court overruled the lower courts and allowed one such 
exemption to apply to the FOMC meetings. Consequently, the Fed has the 
extraordinary timetable for disclosure that I mentioned.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand the sensitivity with which the Fed must 
treat monetary policy. I also understand the need for apolitical 
decisionmaking during the FOMC meetings. But when a governmental entity 
can wield a $300 billion bludgeoning tool at will in the marketplace, 
it should be held accountable. The Sunshine on the Federal Open Market 
Committee Act will ensure such accountability.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this important measure.
  

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