Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977

Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to extend the authority for the flexible regulation of interest rates on deposits and accounts in depository institutions, to promote the accountability of the Federal Reserve System, and for other purposes.
Enacted bythe 95th United States Congress
EffectiveNovember 16, 1977
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 95–188
Statutes at Large91 Stat. 1387
Codification
Acts amendedFederal Reserve Act Bank Holding Company Act of 1956
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 9710 by Henry S. Reuss (D–WI) on October 20, 1977
  • Passed the House on October 31, 1977 (395–3)
  • Passed the Senate on November 1, 1977  with amendment
  • House agreed to Senate amendment on November 2, 1977 ()
  • Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on November 16, 1977

The Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977[1] enacted a number of reforms to the Federal Reserve, making it more accountable for its actions on monetary and fiscal policy and tasking it with the goal to "promote maximum employment, production, and price stability".[2] The act explicitly established price stability as a national policy goal for the first time.[3] It also required quarterly reports to Congress "concerning the ranges of monetary and credit aggregates for the upcoming 12 months."[4] It also modified the selection of the Class B and C Reserve Bank Directors. Discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, or national origin was prohibited, and the composition of the directors was required to represent interests of "agriculture, commerce, industry, services, labor and consumers".[4] The Federal Reserve Act, which created the Federal Reserve in 1913, made no mention of services, labor, and consumers. Finally, the act established Senate confirmation of chairmen and vice chairmen of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve Reform Act made the Federal Reserve more transparent to Congressional oversight.[5]

  1. ^ Pub. L. 95–188, 91 Stat. 1387, enacted November 16, 1977.
  2. ^ United States Congress House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs (1977). Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977: Hearings Before the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, First Session, on H.R. 8094 ... July 18 and 26, 1977. U.S. Government Printing Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "What is the Fed: Financial Stability".
  4. ^ a b Moore, Carl H. (2011). The Federal Reserve System : a history of the first 75 years. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6735-8. OCLC 869973057.
  5. ^ Emerson, Chad (2010-02-01). "The Illegal Actions of the Federal Reserve: An Analysis of How the Nation's Central Bank Has Acted Outside the Law in Responding to the Current Financial Crisis". William & Mary Business Law Review. 1 (1): 109. ISSN 2159-7146.